Missing photos from iPhoto sync in iTunes to iPhone iTunes is not recognizing the correct number of photos in some of my iPhoto events. Some events are showing as having 0 photos in them, others are showing far fewer photos than the event actually has.

After some digging I found a pattern: the problem only affects "referenced" events, i.e., events where the master copies of the photos are in folders outside of the iPhoto Library. In my case these are mainly older events for which I already had folders before I started using iPhoto. For these events, iPhoto maintains an alias in the library to the original file. The original files are all there, available and editable within iPhoto.

If I edit a photo in one of the affected events, it then appears available for sync in iTunes, presumably because once edited, the modified photo is stored in the iPhoto Library.

To summarize, iTunes does not recognize any iPhoto photos which are stored outside of the iPhoto Library folder (referenced), unless that photo has since been edited in iPhoto.

I'm using Lion 10.7.2 and the latest versions of both iPhoto and iTunes, syncing with an iPhone 4 running iOS 5.0.1.

I've resolved the problem, and it wasn't pretty.

It starts with iPhoto 8 ('09) on my iMac. This library had a bunch of "referenced" photos, ie, photos whos image files were outside of the iPhoto Library folder. In iPhoto 8 this was handled by creating an OS X alias file in the Originals folder within the iPhoto Library folder.

Then I wanted to move my library to my new MacBook Air running Lion and iPhoto 9 ('11). Forgetting that I had referenced files in my library I just copied the iPhoto Library folder from my iMac to my MacBook Air as the Apple support docs say (they don't mention anything about referenced files). Of course the referenced files were not copied to the MacBook, but everything appeared to be OK.

Start iPhoto 9 on my MacBook and it upgrades the library. It can't find the referenced images of course, but there's no warning or anything. iPhoto 9 has a totally different folder and database structure. All the information it needs about where to find an image is now in the Library.apdb SQlite database file in iPhoto Library/Database/apdb/. In that db there's a table called RKMaster which stores the info about each photo. RKMaster has a column called imagePath which is where the full path of the original image file is supposed to go. However, since my referenced images were not available during the iPhoto library upgrade it just set these all to Masters/<image file name>, and stored the alias information from the iPhoto 8 database in a BLOB column called fileAliasData. When I worked out the referenced files were missing I copied them over to my MacBook, and the iPhoto was miraculously able to find them again because of the information in the fileAliasData column in the database.

However, iTunes and other apps that link to the iPhoto library don't access the iPhoto Library database directly. They use a file called AlbumData.xml in the iPhoto Library folder. iPhoto 9 re-creates this file every time you close iPhoto. Unfortunately, what it uses to build the full image path for putting in the XML file is what's stored in the imagePath column in the database, which by now is basically garbage. iPhoto can see all the files OK, but nothing else can.

The only solution was to painstakingly fix the RKMaster records for all my referenced files so that they pointed to the correct place. I took the opportunity to copy the files to the iPhoto Library folder in the process so that now all my images are in the iPhoto Library folder. This implied setting fileIsReferenced = 0 and fileAliasData = null for those records aswell.

Now I finally have everything working again, but it was a very long and tedious process that can only be done with some knowledge of SQL databases. Apple should really warn people about this potential problem when advising on how to move your iPhoto Library.


Data Leak Prevention software for mac OSX We are using a software in window environment which provides the following feature to prevent a data leak. This software is protecting a folder which contains a lot of AI and PS file in window enviroment.

This software protect the file in the following way:

Passive encryption when file is saved so the file can't be opened in other computer if the whole harddisk is stolen.
Prevent unauthorized USB access the file is prohibited to copy to any external storage.
Limit the file access only in intranet, if the computer can't connect to intranet the file can't be opened.

In window, the software is based on Minifilter which is a Microsoft Technology

Can someone suggest a similar Data Leak Prevention software for mac OSX?

You don't really describe how your software works, but if you work with an app like Exces (that make it easy to work with, but the feature is available to OS X without the software) you can always work on an encrypted image and close it after use.

Of course you can use Filevault as well to maintain your filesystem encrypted.

Sadly, these have nothing to do with number three, since that is network dependent.


Can I change the flash storage in my iPhone 4? I saw a super deal where I could get an iPhone 4 8GB for such a small amount that I couldn't resist.

Does someone know if it's possible to change the flash storage for a 16GB or 32GB ?

Would iTunes recognize the device and/or enable me to reset it to default iOS and settings ?

No, it is flash memory soldered onto the main circuit board and cannot be changed. It is not similar to devices with removable/upgradeable storage at all.

In this case "no user-serviceable parts inside" would be pretty close to the truth. iFixit has a great iPhone 4S tear down if you'd like a complete tour of the internals. They have done the same to many devices if you explore a bit, very interesting.


How much time do I have left on my iPhone 4s I just checked and it says the battery on my iPhone 4s is 30% charged. If I leave my phone off, how much time will it have left? What if I turn it off?

I need to know if I'll be able to use this phone 6 hours later.

While I do not think there is any official testing data that can accurately answer your question, turning off your iPhone should more than certainly leave you with battery 6 hours later.

In the past, I've tested out the standby capabilities of both my iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. My test consisted of charging the iPhones to 100%, switching them to Airplane Mode, and locking the screen. I left them in that state over night (about 9 hours) and checked the battery percentage. They both reported 98% to 100% capacity, which surprised me greatly.

So I would like to think that you powering your iPhone 4s for 6 hours should keep the bulk of your charge in place. Maybe left with 25% of charge.

Of course, this is all assumption ;).


Safari on Yosemite stops loading tabs if a new one is created If I visit a site in Safari, and before it loads, create a new tab or switch over to an existing one, the loading stops in the initial tab.

Has anyone else experienced this as well? None of the Yosemite updates has fixed this issue for me. I've reinstalled the entire OS as well but the problem still persists.

I've had this happen every time with OS X 10.10.2 and below. It has somewhat lessened with the 10.10.3 update. But it does still happen. The only way I've found around it is to make sure some of the site loads on the tab before creating a new tab (or even switching to an existing tab).

Sorry, I was hoping to just post this as a comment, but not enough reputation yet.


Why do menu items blink twice when selected? I wanted to know why while clicking on an written item (quit, hide, option...) the item in question blink twice very fast and then do the action we wanted?

Thanks

It is simply a visual cue that you have selected that menu item.
It is described in Apple's "OS X Human Interface Guidelines" under Menu Behavior (page 134):

When the user chooses a menu item, it blinks briefly to confirm the
user’s choice and then performs the action.

(Note that this document has been retired and is no longer available for download, but a copy is available at https://issuu.com/hyungjoonjun/docs/osxhiguidelines)
OS X provides other visual cues: when you press a key shortcut, for example ⌘+C, the menu bar menu where that key shortcut is listed, in our example Edit:

is highlighted for a fraction of a second.


Chrome back/forward gestures reversed on Big Sur At first Chrome back/forward gestures stopped working after upgrading to MacOS Big Sur.  I went into trackpad settings, unselected and reselected "Swipe between pages".  It still didn't work.  Then I changed it from 3 fingers to 2 fingers.
You can say it "works" now, but it goes the opposite direction.  To go "back" I swipe right.  To go forward I swipe left.
"Scroll direction: Natural" is selected.  If I unselect that it fixes this problem, but then the vertical scrolling direction is reversed.
Anyone else seeing this?

That sounds like the right direction. The previous page is semantically to the left of the current page, so swiping right with natural direction is going left. This is the same as swiping PDF pages in Preview — swipe right to go to the previous page on the left.
This description of natural scrolling in the macOS User Guide:

Scroll direction: Natural
Select this option to move the contents of a
window in the same direction as your fingers.

and the animation in System Preferences > Trackpad > Swipe between pages:

make this logic hopefully clear.


My Mac Switches Audio Output From Bluetooth Headphones to Internal Speakers I was watching some youtube videos on my mac (macOS Catalina, MacBook Air, 13-inch, Mid 2012) with my paired Bluetooth headphones. Randomly, about 15 minutes in the audio output just switched to the internal speakers. Went into audio preferences and tried to select my headphones as audio output but it wouldn't change where the audio was playing from. I then disconnected and reconnected the headphones and it worked for around another 15 minutes, and then the same thing happened. I have experienced this issue multiple times with both my headphones and a pair of wireless earbuds. Both the headphones and the earbuds work with my iPhone 6 with no problems at all. Does anyone know a way to stop this from happening?

This kind of issue has been widely noticed after the major updates of macOS from Mojave to Catalina. I would suggest you get the latest Catalina update that has been released couple of days ago.
In other hand, try the following two resolutions which might help you.

Open Finder
Click on “Go”
Then go to “Folder”
Type on the search tab ’ /Library/Preferences’
Look for a file with a filename “com.apple.Bluetooth.plist.
Delete that file. Not to worry though as will auto-create a new copy of the Bluetooth file.
Once file is deleted, restart your Mac device.

PRAM or Parameter Random Accessory Memory that stores system settings on your Mac device such as settings on display, volume of your speakers, time zone settings and many others. Here’s how to reset PRAM on Mac:

Shut down your Mac device.
Press the Power Button.
Before the grey screen appears, press the Command, Option, P, and R keys all at the same time.
Continues pressing the keys Mac restarts and a startup sound can be heard for the second time.
Finally, release the Four (4) keys:  Command, Option, P, and R keys


Yosemite upgrade: "Some features require an Apple ID" Reading the upgrade instructions for Yosemite, I see that "Some features require an Apply ID; terms apply."  However, I haven't managed to figure out what features this pertains to.

I don't really trust Apple and may not want agree to these terms.  What features of Yosemite require an Apple ID?  Will the system still be usable if I decline to accept the terms?

You can complete the setup of any Mac with Yosemite installed on it without needing an Apple ID.

You can't use the Mac App Store for anything but core OS updates (printers, safari, etc...)
You can't use the iOS App store for music or books or podcasts, but streaming internet radio does work without an Apple ID.
You can't update the iLife apps that come with a new Mac
You can't use iCloud or FaceTime or Messages or continuity (aka handoff and instant hotspot)

Other than that, the computer doesn't really care that you haven't chosen to enter a valid Apple ID and password (or any Apple ID at all). I'm not sure how you'll download the Yosemite installer without using an Apple ID, but perhaps that is something you don't mind doing once before installing the upgrade.

As part of the installation you do have to agree to the licensing terms or the installer will not run. If you decide to hack that, it's not clear if there are any ramifications, but that item would be off-topic so if you decline the terms, the upgrade won't run out of the box. You don't need an Apple ID to accept or decline the EULA dialog so those really are separate issues IMO.


System notification message in message center I think this is a virus but I'm not sure. I cannot seem to find an answer online on how to make it stop. I have checked under safari and preferences and under system preferences.

"NOTIFICATION SYSTEM" is not a system notification, or not one I've ever seen.

The header is the 'app' generating the notification. In this case, as the icon looks like Safari then it could be some site you allowed to send you notifications.
(As I tend to have most of these switched off, I'm not certain if the wording they use in that header is Safari's or the remote site's responsibility.)

Safari > Preferences > Websites > Notifications

Check which sites you wish to allow to be able to do that - mostly you can switch them off, allow only the ones you really need, otherwise it's a spam-fest


How can I route all traffic on my iPad through a proxy? I have an iPad running iOS 8.1.2. I have added a manual proxy to the Wi-Fi connection but it seems that only the HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) traffic is going through the proxy. Is it possible to pass all traffic through the proxy?

The Proxy you add is a http proxy. Port is not the point. In the other word, other protocol except http traffic will not going through this proxy. for example Facebook App using SPDY protocol so this app "bypass" your proxy


Can I use both clang and gcc compiler in yosemite? I need gcc as a default compiler to compile cuda samples and I need clang to compile my network projects because clang has  better warnings and errors specifications.

Is there any way to run both compilers?

Yes you can.

Apple's Xcode supplies clang (and puts in /usr/bin/gcc a link to clang not gcc)

Then you can then install gcc - probably the easiest way is via a package manager like Macports, Homebrew or Fink


Is there a way to improve YouTube performance on the iPad? I stream a lot of videos on my iPad. Vimeo, stuff on Apple.com, and more. The place where I consistently have a problem though, is YouTube. On a video such as this embed on Devour, about 10 seconds or so of content will play, and then playback will stop for 30-60 seconds as content buffers. Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot this, or better yet fix it?

For starters, I'm using my ISP's DNS server, as not doing so has led to problems with streaming from Apple and Netflix.

With business class cable (10 to 30 Mb/s), even HD videos are basically instant on and play through completely. It's more a matter of selecting a smaller stream size by picking your web site or setting a preference if you can't getting a wider pipe to the internet.

Latency isn't a big issue with streaming video - lots and lots of bandwidth is the major factor you can influence. Your mention of DNS is very important for things like Apple, Netflix, Google (YouTube) and others that set up content delivery networks to send you the files from a data center closest to your internet provider.

Streaming takes little RAM and the CPU is barely involved in video as the GPU handles the vast majority of that specialized task.

The iPad is capable of huge bandwidth on 802.11n networks so it's not something you have to fix or tweak on the iPad end of things...


Volume/Power button metal ring Today I've started my custom iPhone 6s 128GB build out of new parts. Only the motherboard was used. I came to the part where I had to screw the bracket for holding the power button in place. When screwing the bracket in I realised a very important part of the button. A good working button requires the power button itself, metal spacer and a metal ring what goes into the button. The work of the metal ring is for getting the button pushed back when clicked in.

The problem now is I forgot to order the metal rings for my upper buttons.. I am searching everywhere online, but cannot find anything at all. Does anyone know where I can get those metal rings (NOT METAL SPACERS!!).

Picture:
http://www.t-shirtlicious.com/3574-18661-thickbox/apple-iphone-6-plus-silver-power-volume-button-with-spacer-original-new.jpg

You can get the set of buttons, with the "ring" you requested for less than a dollar from UnionRepair, among many other suppliers. I linked the silver ones but they have all the colours. Also note that you will also need to order the 1mm metal contacts in order for the button to properly actuate the switch on the flex.


iPad app for organizing, rating, and noting photos I've imported a bunch of my photos from Lightroom (not directly of course) to use my iPad as a scrap book. So that I can look at them, and decide whether they belong in a series or should be included in my portofio.

Currently I'm doing this by e-mailing myself each photo with some notes and thoughts.

Is there an app where I can view my photos, and put notes against them. And ideally also organize them into groups where I feel they work together?

thanks

Update

I should have noted this before. It needs to be an offline solution. Although I e-mail myself, I compose the e-mails offline as it's not so important when the notes get to me, but rather that I am writing them whenever i want, while looking through the photos.

cheers

You can create yourself a Flickr account and upload your pictures to Flickr (as you are already sending the pictures via mail, it should not be an issue).

On Flickr, you will be able to put your pictures as favorite or not, put description, comments, keywords.
You can arrange them in Sets and Collections and also keep them private so no-one can see them, unless you decide otherwise.

You have app for this on iPad/iPhone, as well as the website on the Mac or the numerous exiting applications on Mac interfacing with Flickr (Lightroom is also one of them).

The drawback is the limits existing in the free version, but depending on your usage, it could be OK for you.


Removing MySearchDial malware My brother decided to install uTorrent on my iMac. In doing so, he accepted the installation of MySearchDial, a browser hijacker. I now have no idea how to remove it. Adding a new tab in Chrome will link to the MySearchDial search engine. I'm not sure how else it's affecting the computer, but it seems slower. The only instructions for removal I've found are for Windows.

As noted in the comments by @Scott Porter, Spotify has an article that explains how to remove MySearchDial from the OS X.  For the sake of others who may encounter the same issue here is the solution as explained in the article.

  Google Chrome

  Click spanner icon > "Tools" > remove mysearchdial in ‘Extensions’.

  Mac OS X

  Apple icon  > System Preferences > Users & Groups > choose
  affected user account > tick mysearchdial > hit minus icon.


Use target mode to pull data from a hard disk encrypted with FileVault? I got this message on a MacBook Pro 2012:

  path /system/installation/packages/osinstall.mpkg appears to be missing or damaged

The first thing to do is to safe data. The hard disk is encrypted with FileVault.

Is it possible to plug it to another MacBook Pro (running High Sierra or El Capitan) and pull the data?

Yes,

Boot the Mac you want the data from into target disk mode, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201462. Connect the two Macs and wait. You should be prompted for the file vault password. After you enter the correct file vault password wait some more. After a few minutes the other mac's drive should mount on the desktop. Now copy over any files you want to keep.


How long would it take to crack AES-128 knowing a 12 character length password? I have a hard drive which was encrypted with XTS-AES 128-bit on OS X. I know how long the password is but that's it.
How long would it take to decrypt it already knowing this?
I have read that in years to come when quantum computers are available it can be broken.
Dont comment "never" or  "6 billion year"
Think outside of the box with advancing technology in years to come.
I have memories on here.

The average 12 character password will take 6 billion years to brute-force at 100,000 passwords per second.

WolframAlpha "password of 12 characters"

Allowing special characters brings this to around 150 billion years.

WolframAlpha "password of 12 characters" with password rules

For more information, see Security.SE:

How long would it take to brute force an AES-128 protected pdf knowing the key is 20 letter long and that the charset is A-Z,0-9?


Mac not searching my files Today I started my Mac (iMac) and when I tried to search in finder or spotlight it produce no results. I think its related to the search cache. I guess it gets corrupted. If this is the case How can I regenerate the cache or fix this issue.

To display the status of indexing
# mdutil -s /
To clear the metadata store
Turn indexing off for /
# mdutil -i off /
Clear the metadata store for /
# mdutil -E /
Turn indexing back on for /
# mdutil -i on /


How can I check if Java is installed on my Mac? I have gone into Terminal and typed

java -v

for which it responds with

No Java runtime present, requesting install.

But I am not sure if that is confirming if Java is not installed or whether the Java SDK is not installed.

If it's responding with No Java runtime present, requesting install.... well, it's not installed. I believe that Apple's default installer still installs Java 6; I'd recommend getting the latest version (right now Java 8u144) from here.

With Java 8, java -v fails with Unrecognized option: -v. Use java -version instead.


Use 256GB USB Thumb Drive as main boot drive My iMac is very slow and I would like to start from a fresh Mavericks install. But instead of spending the time to backup my internal drive, I would rather just get a big 256GB thumb drive and install Mavericks on that. I would also benefit from the speed of having the OS on a flash drive.

Does anyone see any issues with a solution like this? Since I would be bypassing the internal drive completely as the boot drive, and making the internal drive just another extra HD?

Aside from the speed issues that other people have mentioned, you will quickly kill your thumb drive.

One thing that differentiates thumb drives from SSDs is the sophistication of their wear leveling algorithms, the amount of over provisioning of sectors,  and the availability to integrate their garbage collection with the host through TRIM commands.

Basically, thumb drives cannot tolerate as many read/write cycles as an SSD. They have only basic wear leveling and very few or no spare sectors if a block dies.  In contrast, a SSD can have 10-20% of its total flash capacity just dedicated to wear leveling and failed sector replacement.

As a result, SSDs can handle over 100,000 read/write cycles while cheaper flash thumb drives can handle only on the order of 1000s.

OSes designed to be run from thumb drives (like some variants of Linux and freebsd) try to avoid killing their host thumb drives by mounting themselves read only and using a RAM disk as the swap partition and system log partition.

OSX unfortunately does not have this feature.

In the end, you'll have a slow system that will thrash your poor thumb drive to an early death.


How to make script out of focus in AppleScript? I have an Automator Service that is comprised of a single "Run AppleScript" action. The AppleScript basically consists of a series of dialogs.

In the middle of the script, the script relies on keystroking ⌘ command + C in order to get the selected rich text into the script as the clipboard. This copy command must fall in the middle of the script, as the user might want to paste the real clipboard into the initial dialog.

AppleScript dialogs in Services are by default pinned on top of all windows; you cannot change this.

AppleScript is only able to keystroke ⌘ command + C when the underlying app is in focus, which makes sense, considering that it is the underlying app -- not the script dialog -- that contains the selected text.

So, I'll put my question inelegantly: Is there a way to make the top part of the window immediately behind the Service dialog gray and thus make the top bar of the Service dialog white, while still not moving the script dialog out of view?

I cannot go by the title of the window or the app of the window, because these variables will vary. The constant is that the window that I want to bring into focus will always be immediately behind the Service dialog.

The following is an example of what I'm talking about:

-- Back up original clipboard contents:
set savedClipboard to the clipboard

set optionList to {"Uppercase case"}
set dialogBoxChoice to choose from list optionList with title "Change case of selection" with prompt "Choose a letter case:"

-- Copy selected text to clipboard:
tell application "System Events" to keystroke "c" using {command down}
delay 1 -- Without this, the clipboard may have stale data.
set theSelectedText to the clipboard

-- Makes the selected text all uppercase:
-- From: http://apple.stackexchange.com/a/171196/184907
set theModifiedSelectedText to (do shell script ("echo " & theSelectedText & " | tr a-z A-Z;"))

display dialog theModifiedSelectedText

-- Overwrite the old selection with the desired text:
set the clipboard to theModifiedSelectedText
tell application "System Events" to keystroke "v" using {command down}
delay 1 -- Without this delay, may restore clipboard before pasting.

-- Restore clipboard:
set the clipboard to savedClipboard

If you put the above code in a keyboard-shortcut-triggered Service, you will see that the script will fail to tell application "System Events" to keystroke "c" using {command down}; thus, theSelectedText will be identical to the savedClipboard every time.

This will do what I think you're looking for. I removed the 'choice of one' from the beginning as it didn't seem relevant to the workflow.

I'm using an activeApp variable to call the app forwards after the dialogs. If you use System Events to call forwards it will not restore the frontmost window.

By using tell me instead of tell application "System Events" except where necessary, you can avoid the complication of the modal dialog stealing focus & not returning to your frontmost window afterwards.

Adding & quoted form of to the shellscript will work in more cases. Some apps will error without it, including Automator itself.

The Automator service receives no input from any application
I've left in a lot of debug, in the form of dialogs, to observe the progress.

on run {input, parameters}
    tell me
        tell application "System Events" to set activeApp to name of first application process whose frontmost is true
        -- Back up original clipboard contents:
        set savedClipboard to the clipboard
        display dialog ("Original clip - " & (the clipboard))
        activate application activeApp
        tell application "System Events" to keystroke "c" using command down
        delay 1
        display dialog ("Copied clip - " & (the clipboard))
        set theSelectedText to the clipboard
        set theModifiedSelectedText to do shell script "echo " & quoted form of theSelectedText & " | tr a-z A-Z;"
        display dialog {"Modified clip - " & theModifiedSelectedText}
        activate application activeApp
        set the clipboard to theModifiedSelectedText
        delay 1
        tell application "System Events" to keystroke "v" using {command down}
        -- Restore clipboard:
        delay 1
        set the clipboard to savedClipboard
        display dialog ("Restored clip - " & (the clipboard))
    end tell
    set input to {}
    return input
end run


Does the “Put hard disks to sleep when possible.” option in macOS have any affect on SSD drives? So, I completely understand the value of putting a hard disk (specifically) to sleep in some cases especially in the pre-SSD days of the past. It can save power, lower noise and such. But in the case of modern systems that are increasingly SSD-based, does this option have any value at all?

My MacBook Air (2018) running Mojave (10.14.1) has “Put hard disks to sleep when possible.” checked off by default (in System Preferences > Energy Saver), but this system uses an SSD.

Is this option only focused on hard disk drives and ignored by SSD drives?

I can’t imagine the internal SSD would ever “sleep” but correct me if I am wrong.

In short, does the “Put hard disks to sleep when possible” option have any affect on SSD drives in macOS?

According to Apple:

  Put hard disks to sleep when possible

  This setting powers down the hard drive motor when you aren't reading
  or writing files from the drive. Solid-state drives (SSDs) don’t have
  moving parts, so this setting doesn’t affect Mac computers that use
  only SSDs to store data.

  Consider deselecting this option if you have
  an internal or external non-SSD drive and you use apps—for example,
  pro audio or video editing software—that work better with continued
  read and write access to the hard disk.

Source: Apple: Use the Energy Saver settings on your Mac [Bold emphasis mine]


How does OS X handle IRQs? As a former Windows and Linux user, I've been challenged several times to have hardware devices not share some particular IRQ line.

If I understand correctly, IRQ lines are part of the hardware architecture (x86 for example), and Operating Systems (such as OS X) provide some means to configure peripherals and inspect current usage of interrupt lines.

This can be found at /proc/interrupts on Linux systems and on Device Manager on Windows systems.

Where can I see that information on an OS X? Is it never needed?

Mac OS X configures the IRQs completely automatically (much like Plug&Play), and does not expose these to the user.


Setting keyboard shortcut to switch to an application Possible Duplicate:
  Can I create a shortcut to open a specific application on OS X?

For example, I'd like to use ⌘ Command + 1 to switch to my browser, with different numbers for the applications I switch between most regularly.

I would highly recommend installing QuickSilver which is an excellent application launcher:

http://qsapp.com/

In QuickSilver you can also setup keyboard shortcuts for various actions (called Triggers)  including launching an application.

If you click here

http://qsapp.com/about.php

and then browse through the feature description until the eighth pane, you will learn about QuickSilver Triggers.

You could also have a quick look at the manual which is found here:

http://mysite.verizon.net/hmelman/Quicksilver.pdf

Triggers are described starting on page 34.

Hope this helps.


How to get native resolution on Macbook Air external monitor? I am using an Asus external monitor with 1600 x 900 native resolution connected to my Macbook Air (Yosemite) using a mini display port to VGA adapter.  When I try to set the display resolution in System Preferences > Displays, I click "options" and "Scaled" to see a list of additional resolutions ranging from 800 x 600 through 1920 x 1080.  For some reason 1600 x 900, the native resolution of the external display is not listed.  1920 x 1080 is the closest match to the native resolution, but it looks awful.  How can I set the resolution to 1600 x 900?

The most likely explanation is that your miniDP to VGA adapter is not an original/high-quality one. I've seen it happen before, and as soon as that person bought an original Apple miniDP to VGA adapter the issue is gone and native resolution is recognized without any issue.


Having issues reinstalling El Capitan xo I wiped my desktop and now I’m unable to reinstall El Capitan I keep getting the error message

This is not available at this time please try again later

What was your version of macOS prior to wiping everything. You can't reinstall OS X El Capitan if you had macOS Catalina installed. You can try wiping the SSD/HDD to have a GPT partition map if it doesn't already and then you should format Macintosh HD to be HFS (macOS Extended). Then you should boot into macOS Recovery and reinstall macOS. Make sure you are connected to the internet. If that doesn't work, then try installing the original version of macOS that came with your computer then upgrade to El Capitan. Check out this link: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/reinstall-macos-mchlp1599/mac.


Any chance to survive after "Apple Developer Program membership will be terminated" message? I've got "your Apple Developer Program account has been flagged for removal" message on the 3rd May 2019. On 15th May 2019, I've got the "your Apple Developer Program membership will be terminated" message.
Apple does not share specific reasons for that decision, as usual.

However, as of 20th May the account is still active: I can access it and make changes.

Since the 15th of May I've removed from sale all apps that could have caused Apple's anger. I've disabled all corresponding In-App purchases. I've deleted most of the apps. I can't delete one of them because there's an In-App purchase with "in Review" status.

Is there still a chance for canceling the termination of my membership? How long does it usually take to terminate a membership?

Waiting for death is sort of worse than the death itself.

Only Apple can answer your queries.

  Is there still a chance for canceling the termination of my membership? How long does it usually take to terminate a membership?

There's no documented rules for this, and it's totally upto the concerned team(s) at Apple to take calls. As far as one can understand, it is taken up on a case by case basis.

To get answers to any of your queries, it's best to contact Apple Developer Support:

Support - Apple Developer
Worldwide Telephone Support - Apple Developer


Why transparent preview? I press Space at any document.
I get transparent preview which makes difficult to read anything about the document.
I think this is not a feature of the latest OSX 10.10.3.
I have reduced transparency maximally in the settings.

Example

How can you prevent the transparency of previewing files?

You are right that this isn't a feature of OSX. It looks like it is showing you the code of PDF files instead of rendering them as PDF files. My guess is you've either installed a QuickLook plugin that is doing this, or you've installed an application with a QuickLook plugin that is handling files instead of the default plugins.

There are three folders for QuickLook plugins. Please check these folders for any plugins that you've installed yourself that could be doing this. "/System/Library/QuickLook", "/Library/QuickLook" and "/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Library/QuickLook".

Alternatively you can run the command qlmanage -m plugins to see a list of plugins on your system. This will tell you the plugins from these folders, but also includes the plugins that come bundled with applications. You could even filter it to just show those that affect PDF files with qlmanage -m plugins | grep pdf.

Let us know how you get on.


Enable Guest User in 10.14.x Via the Command Line (without a MDM)? Is there a way to enable the Guest user via the terminal in 10.14.x?

I have tried...

defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist GuestEnabled -bool YES

On machines where the Guest account has been previously enabled and then disabled through the System Preferences -> Users & Groups GUI, this works.

However, on a machine where the Guest account has never been previously enabled, this does not seem to work. On the Users & Groups pane of System Preferences, the Guest account says "Logins Only" instead of enabled, and a Guest user is unable to login.

(I am managing a fleet of Macs without the use of a MDM, hence my desire to be able to do this without physically touching 100's of machines.)

The first time the Guest user is enabled, a new user is created with a process similar to that of any user creation.

The macOS procedure has been distilled into a script, essentially running dscl . -create /Users/Guest and other dscl configuration commands on the user.

The script is available at

https://github.com/sheagcraig/guestAccount/blob/master/guest_account

and see the readme too for notes on Keychain. This has been tested to work in 10.14.2. Note that you will have to change or remove the OS version check if using on any OS above 10.8.


How can I repair a disk that Disk Utility says it can't repair? I have an external hard-disk with a single Mac OS Extended partition. This disk stopped working couple of days ago. I tried to repair the partition with disk utility but no luck. The error message is the following:

  Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.

Any ideas or tools I can try to repair my disk?

There is a chance to repair it with command line (in Terminal) with the terminal utility as described in Apple's support docs, shown below:

  Use the command line and the fsck_hfs -l command.

  Start up your computer and log in as an administrator.

  Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).

  At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return to determine your filesytem ID:

df -hl

  Look for some lines of text that look like this:

Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/disk0s3 37G 20G 17G 55% /
/dev/disk0s5 37G 37G 641M 98% /Volumes/Storage

  Make a note of the External Disk "disk" name that appears after /dev/, such as "/dev/disk0s3." This is your filesystem ID for your External volume.

  At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return:

df -hl

  Then type the following command, where "disk1" is your filesystem ID you noted in step 4, then press Return:

sudo fsck_hfs -l /dev/disk1

  When prompted, enter your admin password, then press Return to begin the verification.

  You should see messages like these during the disk check:

** /dev/rdisk0s3 (NO WRITE)
** Root file system
** Checking HFS Plus volume.
** Checking Extents Overflow file.
** Checking Catalog file.
** Checking multi-linked files.
** Checking Catalog hierarchy.
** Checking Extended Attributes file.
** Checking volume bitmap.
** Checking volume information.
** The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.


How to install Firefox on my Mac laptop I want to install Firefox browser on my Mac laptop. I go to the Firefox website from Google and click on download.
It downloaded a Firefox 77.0.1.dmg file.
How do I install Firefox using this file? This does not look like Firefox icon.

The file that you just download is called a DMG file or an Apple disk image. It's a commonly used way to distribute apps for Mac.
To install Firefox using this DMG file, double click to open or mount the DMG file. Doing so would open a new window which will show you the Firefox app bundle which would look like the Firefox icon.

You can now drag the Firefox icon to the Applications folder as shown in the screenshot above. This would install Firefox app on your Mac.
Once the Firefox.app file is done copying, you can eject the mounted DMG file and move it to the Trash.
To do so, go to Finder and use the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + C to access all disks. Now you'd find an icon with the Firefox logo on it. It's the mounted Firefox 77.0.1.dmg DMG file.

Control + click on the disk icon and select Eject "Firefox" to eject the DMG.

Now you can go to your Downloads folder, or the folder where you downloaded the Firefox 77.0.1.dmg file and delete the installer file.


How to launch a file in vifm I installed vifm through macports.

If I press enter on a file, it just opens it for editing.

How can I launch a file with it's associated program?

i.e. if I have a file highlighted, is there a key I can press so that it does the same thing as

open %c

Where %c is the name of the file that's highlighted?

I almost accidentally saw this question and decided to provide an answer in case you're still didn't find one in the documentation.

To open files with associated programs you need to add the following command to your ~/.vifm/vifmrc file:

filetype * open %c

Then both l and i keys will work for you as expected. See help on :filetype and :filextype in the documentation.

This doesn't work out of the box, since different systems have different open commands and the default behavior is to open all files with Vim (for example, xdg-open for Ubuntu 16.04, as opposed to the aforementioned "open", which is specific to Mac). Maybe new version will contain a set of open commands for different systems in sample vifmrc file, so it will work from the beginning.


How to down-clock RAM? My Mac (Mid 2009- MacBookPro5,5) laptop installing OS 10.8.2.

Currently, it is using 2 x 1GB (1066 Mhz).

My friend gave me 2 x 2GB (1600 Mhz) of his 2012 Mac.

After installing 2 x 2GB (1600 Mhz) on my Mac, it can not boot but can not start OS. This is the error that show on boot start up screen:

But it is possible to install 1x 1GB (1066) + 1x 2GB (1600). The system can down-clock it to both 1066 Mhz. But what i still have 1 x 1GB (1066) + 1x 2GB (1600) left!

My question is: Any better solution than using 1x 1GB (1066) + 1x 2GB (1600)?

More certainly, is there any way to install 2 x 1600 Mhz? (even down-clocking to 1066 is accepted). (currently, 2x1600 Mhz can not startup OS).

Edit 1: 4 RAM are healthy.

I recently ran in to a similar issue when trying to squeeze a little more life out of an old iMac. I could only get 800mhz DIMM's but the specs say it needs 667mhz. I can interchange 1x 667mhz DIMM with 1x800mhz DIMM but a single 800mhz DIMM or two 800mhz DIMMs result in a failure to boot.

My hunch was that the motherboard thinks it can run at 800mhz so doesn't downclock it to 667mhz unless there is a slow DIMM in one of the slots forcing it to.

I did some research, and discovered the timing information is set in the SPD data stored on an EEPROM on the DIMM. I booted an Ubuntu 16.10 liveUSB on the iMac, apt-get installed i2c-tools, modprobeed the i2c-i801 module to enable the SMBus (which talks to the DIMM EEPROM) and read out the SPD of a working and a too-fast DIMM with i2cget. After a lot more research, I merged the timing information from the working DIMM in to the SPD of the too-fast (but larger) DIMM. decode-dimms can calculate the correct CRC. I then wrote the modified data back to the fast DIMM with i2cset.

I can now pair that down-clocked DIMM with an unmodified 800mhz DIMM, and the system correctly downclocks  the memory bus to 667mhz and boots.

FULL DISCLOSURE: After about a month the upgraded machine started hard-crashing and was replaced by a 2017 iMac ;)


Unexplained and persistent "OS X 10.13 is not supported" dialog I am being interrupted multiple times a day by a mysterious dialog box that says:
"OS X 10.13 is not supported. There is an update but you are on OS X 10.13 or an earlier version. Upgrade to the latest version of macOS to install it."
While I was considering doing the OS update soon, this dialog has actually caused me to hesitate, because I can find absolutely no documentation for it. A google search gives only a single hit, and that is in French. I am a bit concerned that this could be evidence of malware- perhaps, for example, the running an update could give malware a special opportunity to get extra permissions/control of my system.
Does anyone have an idea where such a dialog could be coming from, or what app may be triggering it? Image attached.

Update: here is the one (french) link I found on the internet which may reference the same dialog box. No useful information there, as far as I can tell:
https://communities.apple.com/fr/thread/251948653

The problem is with the docker application.


Numbers app lists all file names When we go to a program we go there to create a new file or resume work in one. When one clicks the Numbers Application icon Why does Numbers in Mavericks list files with different extensions and not just Numbers files? Only Numbers files are allowed a "quick look" and nothing else. This whole thing seems like a waste of time.

When we go to a program we go there to create a new file or
  resume work in one.

Or, we may want to open a file that was created with another app. For example, we may have created a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file with another app and want to open it in Numbers to format it as a spreadsheet.

  When one clicks the Numbers Application icon Why does
  Numbers in Mavericks list files with different extensions
  and not just Numbers files?

Numbers shows you all of your files, because hiding some files is disorienting and prevents you from finding your way around the file system.

However, notice that some files are grayed-out within the Numbers Open dialog box. Those are the files you cannot open with Numbers. If a file is not grayed-out, then you can open it (or Quick Look it) with Numbers. This includes many files that are not Numbers documents, or were not created by Numbers, such as Excel spreadsheets, or text files of all kinds.

  Only Numbers files are allowed a "quick look" and nothing else.

That is incorrect. If a file is not grayed-out because Numbers can’t open it, and you can Quick Look it in Finder, then you can Quick Look it in the Numbers Open dialog box. Try Quick Looking an Excel spreadsheet or any kind of text file.

  This whole thing seems like a waste of time.

If that is so, then toggle the Numbers Open dialog box from “On my Mac” to “iCloud,” where you can Save your Numbers documents in one flat hierarchy of Numbers-Saved documents. That way, when you activate Numbers, you can choose only from the documents you previously Saved with Numbers.

Numbers is giving you a choice of 2 ways to work: iCloud’s straightforward “Numbers owns these Numbers documents and that’s all I want to see,” and the “On my Mac” method of incorporating files into Numbers that were not created by Numbers, and which may be Saved in arbitrary places in a larger filesystem. Some people prefer one way, some people prefer the other. It sounds like the iCloud method is right for you.


Colouring text in a notification message created by AppleScript The followng AppleScript code shows a notification message with the texts Text A and Text B both in black.

display notification "Test B" with title "Text A"

Is it possible to set their colour to, say red and blue each?

Looking at the AppleScript Language Guide Command Reference for display notification, none of it's Parameters mention any color attributes for the text, and therefore I'd have to say the answer is no.


Login screen shows "Guest" option even though it is disabled I have disabled the "Guest" option on my Macbook Pro, however it still shows the "Guest" bubble next to my account on the login screen.

A possible way to remove the Guest account is to disable Find My Mac in iCloud settings.

Check this out: Disable guest account


Apple Music on Apple TV 3? Is it possible to get Apple Music on Apple TV 3? I can stream to it from my iMac, but it would be nice to be able to launch Apple Music from TV directly...

No, previous versions of the AppleTV do not support the new Apple Music service.   In order to use the service with AppleTV, you'll need to either 1) stream from a compatible device, such as an iPhone / iPad / Mac, or 2) upgrade to the latest 4th generation AppleTV.


How can I recover files from a failing hard drive? I am in the process of trying to recover files from a failed MacBook hard drive. While I've already replaced the drive in the machine itself and installed a fresh copy of OS X, I have the old drive in an external 2.5" SATA enclosure. I am able to (very, very slowly) view the directory structure and copy files, but it's an incredibly slow process and one failed file stops the whole thing. While I know there are paid drive recovery utilities out there, I'm just looking for something that will attempt to copy all of the files and directories from within a given directory and just skip the ones that can't be copied (ideally, I'd also like to know which files get skipped, but that's not a requirement).

You could use ddrescue to try to clone the raw volume (there are some notes on running it under OS X on tinyapps.org). It basically tries to read over & over, getting as much as possible from the disk.

This isn't ideal for your situation, since it 1) needs enough free disk space (either a volume or a disk image) to hold the entire drive, including free space (i.e. if it was a 200GB drive with 10GB of files, you need 200GB to hold the clone); and 2) it doesn't tell you which files it couldn't read (you can look at the log and see what blocks it hasn't been able to read, but figuring out what files those blocks are part of is not trivial).

The good news about is that, thanks to its log file, if it missed something you need (and you haven't modified the target volume at all -- mounting readonly is recommended), you can just run it again and it'll pick up where it left off, and keep hammering on the difficult blocks until they give up their data.


Touch ID lock screen functionality in iOS 10 In iOS 10, is it possible to have the lock screen functionality so that you could press the home button to turn the screen on, and rest the Touch ID finger on the home button to unlock, as in iOS 9?

If you don't want to do Touch ID or have just rebooted and want to do a passcode, can functionality be set so that the home button can be pressed once to show the lock screen and pressed a second time to show the passcode entry? Since there's no swipe to unlock I'd like things to be as similar to the way they are in iOS 9 as is possible.

Everything you've described is exactly how it works in iOS 10, with one exception (noted in the third paragraph).

Pressing the home button once goes to the lock screen. Note that if you're using a 6s or later, the Touch ID sensor is so sensitive that pressing the home button with a registered Touch ID finger generally leads to the device going directly to the home screen. This has been the case since the 6s (and iOS 9) came out.

The new Raise to Wake feature in iOS 10 allows you to raise the device towards you to turn on the lock screen without pressing any buttons. I've noticed that it will turn the screen back off rather quickly if you don't start interacting with it nearly immediately.

Resting your finger on the home button unlocks the phone. The only change is that instead of going to the home screen, unlocking now stays on the lock screen but provides additional functionality since it's unlocked. You can override it staying on the lock screen by toggling Settings > General > Accessibility > Home Button > Rest for Unlock.

Pressing the home button twice does take you to the passcode screen where you can use Touch ID or enter your passcode. Again, if you use a Touch ID registered finger, it will likely unlock the device by accident, and this has been the case since the iPhone 6s debuted.


What can the minidisplay port on the MacBook Air do? What features does the minidisplay port on the MacBook Air (early 2010) allow you to do?

I couldn't find much information about it in the Air's manual. All it said was that it was a video out connection. Does it only work as a monitor repeater (i.e. it shows exactly what is shown on the built-in screen?) or can it also allow the second monitor to behave as a dual screen? (i.e. where you can have some apps on one screen and separate apps on another?)

If both are possible, where can I find more information about setting it up? (Preferably, I'm looking for help documents created by Apple.)

I am not aware of any manual that contains this information but here is a breakdown, since this is one of the big reasons I got a MacBook originally.

The mini display port allows you to add an additional monitor to your MacBook. Support for this is built into the OS directly so you simply connect your external monitor using the correct MD/VGA or MD/HDMI or MD/DVI connector if the monitor does not have a display port and then you can configure how the displays work. This is done under the Displays option in System Preferences.

From the screen shot below you can see I am running a second monitor on my MacBook Pro at the moment and I have set the second monitor to be to the left of the main one by simply dragging it's rectangle to where I want it.

You can also move the menu to a different screen by grabbing the white strip on the primary screen and dragging it to another screen you want it on.

Each display can have it's own separate resolution and even separate backgrounds. The relevant preference panes will automatically show a dialogue on each screen if it supports multiple displays, for example the Desktop & Screensaver will show on both screens.

You can also choose whether you want to mirror the display or use it as a second screen. In mirror mode it simply mirrors everything on your main display.


Putting "widgets" on Mac desktop Is there any software to put certain "widgets" on the desktop, such as notes or a clock? I would like to have apps permanently affixed there, rather than being open as separate apps or hovering over other windows.

In some versions of Mac OS X it is possible to detach widgets from the Dashboard and leave them on the desktop.

Enable Dashboard Development Mode

Launch Utilities > Terminal.app
Issue the command defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES
Issue the command killall Dock
Quit Terminal.app
Display the Dashboard; using the F12 key
Click and hold on a widget
Hide the Dashboard; using the F12 key
In development mode, the widget remains visible and can now be positioned on the Desktop

These steps were originally for Mac OS X 10.4 but this technique is reported to still work with 10.8, Mountain Lion.


Can I get my own exposure notification app approved for the App Store? I have an app that reports the results of rapid SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests and would like to automate the process of propagating the results of that test through the Apple/Google Exposure Notification API. Can I add exposure notifications to my app, or is it only possible for one app per region to get App Store approval?

According to Apple's Exposure Notification API Addendum to the Developer Program License, you need the Exposure Notification Entitlement Profile.
To get that entitelment, it states:

2.  Entitlement Request; License and Restrictions
2.1 In order to use the Exposure Notification APIs, You must be a government entity, such as a government health services organization, or a developer who has been endorsed and approved by a government entity to develop an Application on behalf of a government for COVID-19response efforts.

Unless you are part of an authorized government agency, you will not be able to get this entitlement or submit an app.


authd/taskgated error -67050/-67062 on MacOS High Sierra I am on High Sierra, and I have opened Console. I am seeing TONS of authd : MacOS error -67050 and sometimes -67062. Sometimes I see this on taskgated and also iCal.

What can I do to trace what causes this?

This error occurs when unsigned code is run.  The taskgated process is the one checking if the executable is signed.  In order to check, it must open the file.  So to track down what is being opened by the process you can use dtruss (you may have install the Xcode command line tools to get it).  Just create the following file named unsigned.pl:
#!/usr/bin/perl

use strict;
use warnings;

open my $fh, "-|", "dtruss -p `ps -ef | grep taskgated | grep -v grep | awk '{print \$2}'` -t open 2>&1";

while (my $line = <$fh>) {
        my ($file) = $line =~ /open\("(.*)\\0"/;

        next unless defined $file and -f $file;

        my $signed = qx/codesign -dvvv "$file"/;

        print $signed;
}

Which can be run like this:
sudo perl unsigned.pl
and it will spit out lines like
/path/to/executable: code object is not signed at all

You can then create a self signed cert with Keychain Access:

launch the Keychain Access app
go to Keychain Access > Certificate Assistance > Create a Certificate...
set the name to something like codesigner
set the certificate type to Code Signing
create the cert

Once you have a self-signed cert you can sign the executables in the terminal with
codesign -s codesigner /path/to/executable

Note: you will see a lot of examples using -f, but that forces it to be resigned with the new cert.  If you have lost access to the cert, or if the cert has expired, that might be necessary, but I try to avoid it.


Completely remove Google Backup and Sync from my Mac I'm running macOS High Sierra and sometime ago I uninstalled Google Drive from my machine. OR so I thought. Today I see the Backup and Sync app in my Applications folder and when I try and delete it I see the following error.

I went to my Library folder and deleted the Google folder from there. I also deleted anything that sounded like Google from Library/Application Support.
However, I still get the same message when I try and move the application to Trash.
How do I get rid of this completely?

Moving of the Backup and Sync from Google app to the Trash and emptying it only removes the application bundle. It doesn't uninstall the Finder Sync Extension, application script,
 APFS container, preferences, etc.

You'd also want to remove the following & reboot:

~/Library/Application\ Scripts/com.google.GoogleDrive.FinderSyncAPIExtension
~/Library/Caches/com.google.GoogleDrive
~/Library/Containers/com.google.GoogleDrive.FinderSyncAPIExtension
~/Library/Cookies/com.google.GoogleDrive.binarycookies
~/Library/Group\ Containers/google_drive
~/Library/Preferences/com.google.GoogleDrive.plist


External Drive, can't empty trash, rm sees a file, but ls -la doesn't I was clearing a music folder in my external drive and found a directory I can't delete no matter what I try.

If I put it in trash bin via GUI

  The operation can’t be completed because the item “folder” is in use.

If I use rm -rf to remove it via terminal

$ rm -rf folder/
rm: folder/: Directory not empty

If I use ls -la to check its content

$ ls -la
total 512
drwxrwxrwx  1 user  staff  131072 Jan  3  2017 .
drwxrwxrwx  1 user  staff  131072 Jan  3  2017 ..

If I use rm -i * within the folder

$ rm -i *
rm: 03 - Ēlusion.mp3: No such file or directory

If I use sudo lsof +D folder/ to check if any files are opened

Nothing returns on program exit.

If I use Disk Utility to repair (first aid) disk and volume

Health check passed so no repair was initiated.

If I reboot macOS

The issue persists.

Additional info:

I can move the folder within the drive, but not to another drive.
I can rename the folder.
ls -i *.mp3 returns ls: 03 - Ēlusion.mp3: No such file or directory, same as rm -i *.mp3.
The file doesn't show up in Finder, that's confusing part, whatever filename display issue Terminal could have (I always set it to use Unicode - UTF-8), I think there are more force at play.

In response to questions, nope, ls -ib doesn't return anything.

$ ls -i
$ ls -ib
$ ls -laib
total 512
2762318 drwxrwxrwx  1 user  staff  131072 Jan  3  2017 .
2685260 drwxrwxrwx  1 user  staff  131072 Jan  3  2017 ..

So apparently there is something in it but ls -la couldn't see it, while rm -i is being weird with filename?

get info via GUI context menu did confirm there is 1 item in the folder, but with zero byte, and certainly doesn't show up in finder.

I am not sure what to do at this point. Help much appreciated!

(Using 10.13.4 + ExFAT on external drive)

The problem appears to be caused by a file named 03 - Ēlusion.mp3 located within the directory named folder.

Because Terminal.app is unable to render diacritical marks in file names--well, it is, but that's beyond the scope of providing the simplest solution for you--it hides its failure by hiding the filename (something unheard of by me before now; perhaps its High Sierra's changes to /.file, /.volfs and 64-bit inodes? Wait-- never mind; your edit to your question tell me I misunderstood you.) Anyway, the file's existence is known, along with the ironical contention by the Finder that it doesn't exist. Obviously, it does. Here's how to change that:

First, determine the file's inode number. In Terminal.app, cd to the directory "folder" and issue this command: ls -i *.mp3

Copy the number string of the inode provided in the left-hand column of the response, which will be something like

12345678  03 - E ̄lusion.mp3

--and put it into this command, which will rename it to something the terminal can render correctly:

find . -inum 12345678 -exec mv {} deletemenow \;

--giving you the file "deletemenow" in the folder "folder," both of which you may dispose of in whatever way best suits your fancy.


How can I disable SSH KeychainIntegration in OS X Mavericks? I'm having some issues with SSH KeychainIntegration in OS X Mavericks.  I've tried poking around Apple's support site, but haven't seen anyone having my issue.  I have seen lots of people who seemingly don't know how to use SSH that well, so I decided to try another community.

First, my configuration is working.  I am able to use my key pair and ssh to hosts as I need to, with my credentials being cached in the agent.  I am able to see my cached credentials via "ssh-add -l", as expected.  I am prompted to input my password by an OS X-style dialog, with a checkbox that says "Remember password in my keychain".  I usually ignore this checkbox, but when I check it, I do see my key stored in the keychain.  This key stored in the keychain is seemingly never used, however, since I have a password on it.  At least that's what I've gleaned from various things I've read.  When I enter my password into the dialog, and the key is cached in the agent, I successfully connect, but not before being told "Saving password to keychain failed".  Seeing this error message is what led me to investigate further; I don't like getting an error every time I connect.

Things get interesting when looking at the manpage SSH_CONFIG(5).  Two options for dealing with the keychain exist, specific to Apple:  AskPassGUI, and KeychainIntegration.  You're able to toggle these in ~/.ssh/config, and doing so yields some interesting results.

Setting AskPassGUI to no, you'll no longer be prompted with an OS X-style dialog, instead an input text line in your terminal.  No biggie.  But if you do this, then ssh-agent will not cache your credentials.  This is plainly broken, and frustrating because I could easily live with the text prompt if the credentials were cached.

Setting KeychainIntegration to no, ssh throws a hard error, as follows:

~/.ssh/config: line 11: Bad configuration option: KeychainIntegration
~/.ssh/config: terminating, 1 bad configuration options

My question, simply, is this:  Is there a way to actually disable OS X Keychain Integration for SSH?

Based on the source code for the current version of SSH that's shipping with Mavericks (located here), it appears that the functionality of the config option KeychainIntegration has not yet been implemented. I'm making this assumption based on the contents of openssh/readconf.h, which does not reference the KeychainIntegration option. It does, however, reference the askpassgui option. Checking the "keywords" struct in that file does indeed show that the keychainintegration option is not present (which in turn implies that the oBadOption (NULL) op code would be returned).

Another clue implying that the functionality you desire is not implemented in the way the man page specifies is the file: openssh/keychain.c. The source code actually shows that the defaults system (i.e., Property List files) is being used to store settings related to KeychainIntegration. Specifically, lines from the store_in_keychain function reference KeychainIntegration:

/* Bail out if KeychainIntegration preference is -bool NO */
if (get_boolean_preference("KeychainIntegration", 1, 1) == 0) {
    fprintf(stderr, "Keychain integration is disabled.\n");
    goto err;
}

Here is the corresponding get_boolean_preference function. Note that it's using CFPreferencesCopyAppValue to obtain a boolean from the "org.openbsd.openssh" application identifier:

#if defined(__APPLE_KEYCHAIN__)

static int get_boolean_preference(const char *key, int default_value,
int foreground)
{
int value = default_value;
CFStringRef keyRef = NULL;
CFPropertyListRef valueRef = NULL;

keyRef = CFStringCreateWithCString(NULL, key, kCFStringEncodingUTF8);
if (keyRef != NULL)
    valueRef = CFPreferencesCopyAppValue(keyRef,
        CFSTR("org.openbsd.openssh"));
if (valueRef != NULL)
    if (CFGetTypeID(valueRef) == CFBooleanGetTypeID())
        value = CFBooleanGetValue(valueRef);
    else if (foreground)
        fprintf(stderr, "Ignoring nonboolean %s preference.\n", key);

if (keyRef)
    CFRelease(keyRef);
if (valueRef)
    CFRelease(valueRef);

return value;
}

#endif

This might imply that you can disable the KeychainIntegration functionality for yourself by performing this defaults command:

defaults write org.openbsd.openssh KeychainIntegration -bool NO

or to set it for all users:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/org.openbsd.openssh KeychainIntegration -bool NO


Enhance Wifi range on a TimeCapsule I previously had a DLink modem-router (DSL-2740B). I replaced it with a small ADSL D-Link modem and a TimeCapsule.
While I'm quite happy with it, the main and only criticism I could make is the loss I had in the Wifi coverage in my apartment.
When I had an almost full signal in my bedroom with the DLink, I can now barely connect.

I know that an Airport Extreme Base Station would be an option to extend the network but the distance from the TimeCapsule to the bedroom seems quite "normal" to me so that a single wifi emitter would be enough as it was before.
I plan anyway to put in my bedroom an Airport Extreme Base station to dispatch my music collection on my hifi system, but I'm afraid it wouldn't even reach the network.

Are there any tips and tricks?
In Airport Utility, the Transmit Power is already at 100%.
Are there any other parameters to check/tweak?

EDIT:

Here is the screenshot of iStumbler. My network is highlighted.

Run iStumbler from your Mac.  (Get it here). Look at the other wireless networks in your vicinity - and check what channel(s) they're running on.  You want your device to be as far away from those channels as possible.  There is a 3-channel overlap.  That means, a device on channel 1 will interfere (albeit only slightly,) with a device on channel 3 (or 4?  I forget.)  So if lots of devices are on channel 6 (most come out of the box on this channel,) you want to be on 9/10/11 or 3/2/1.  I almost always just use 1 or 11.

There is also a "use network robustness" option which I think increases range but decreases bandwidth.  See this Apple Article.


Bluetooth not enabled at startup on MacPro 3,1 I have an external BT controller with my MacPro 3,1. (I want it to support BT 4.0 which the built-in does not). A few months ago, somehow BT was no longer enabled at boot-time. How do I re-enable it? Mac OS 10.11.6.

The nvram settings are as follows:

EFIBluetoothDelay   %b8%0b
IONVRAM-FORCESYNCNOW-PROPERTY   boot-args
SystemAudioVolume   4
SystemAudioVolumeDB %f4
bluetoothActiveControllerInfo   %01%00%12%0a%01%00%00%00 =%00%1a}%daq%13
bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior   always
bluetoothInternalControllerInfo %06%82%ac%05%00%00 ]%00#l%bd%e5_
boot-args
boot-gamma  m%1e%00%00%d9V%00%00%00%83%08%00%b6%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%0d%00%01%01%e3%04%02%02%05%08%04%04)%0d%07%07%a1%13%0e%0e4 %18%18T/##%f8=00%a7M=='\NN%d7mrr%0b%90%9a%9a%90%b2%c9%c9%fb%d7%0d%00%01%01%e3%04%02%02%05%08%04%04)%0d%07%07%a1%13%0e%0e4 %18%18T/##%f8=00%a7M=='\NN%d7mrr%0b%90%9a%9a%90%b2%c9%c9%fb%d7%0d%00%01%01%e3%04%02%02%05%08%04%04)%0d%07%07%a1%13%0e%0e4 %18%18T/##%f8=00%a7M=='\NN%d7mrr%0b%90%9a%9a%90%b2%c9%c9%fb%d7
efi-boot-device <array><dict><key>IOMatch</key><dict><key>IOProviderClass</key><string>IOMedia</string><key>IOPropertyMatch</key><dict><key>UUID</key><string>EA7AF82F-7F7A-44D1-BEB0-35F3A2712898</string></dict></dict><key>BLLastBSDName</key><string>disk0s2</string></dict></array>%00
efi-boot-device-data    %02%01%0c%00%d0A%03%0a%00%00%00%00%01%01%06%00%02%1f%03%12%0a%00%01%00%00%00%00%00%04%01*%00%02%00%00%00(@%06%00%00%00%00%00%90`f%1d%00%00%00%00/%f8z%eaz%7f%d1D%be%b05%f3%a2q(%98%02%02%7f%ff%04%00
fmm-computer-name   Otheus%e2%80%99 Mac Pro
prev-lang:kbd   en:2

Try a PRAM reset if you think NVRAM could be causing this. Other than that you can create a new admin user in System Preferences > Users & Groups and reboot into that. It won't fix the issue but if it doesn't happen you can be sure a setting or application in your profile is causing it. If it persists it could be NVRAM or even a software update.


How to change binding in zsh? command key vs control key I moved to Mac OS and I'm facing the control vs command key problem.
I already changed the settings for my external keyboard, so that my control key is mapped to command key and viceversa. This fixes my habits of ctrl-x,c,v,z and ctrl-t,ctrl-w for the browser and most applications.
However, when I work with Terminal and zsh, now ctrl-w, ctrl-u, ctrl-a etc... does not do what I expect, because I'm of course sending command-w etc.
How do I fix this once and for all so that I don't need to change my habits?

Install the awesome, free Karabiner-Elements app.
Install the "Keyboard shortcuts for Terminal apps" mod.

Then, instead of using ^W, ^U, ^A, etc., you can just use the modifier keys (⌘/⌥/⌃) plus the arrow/delete keys (↑/↓/←/→/⌫/⌦), just as you do in the rest of macOS.
Don't like those exact mappings? Just git clone https://github.com/pqrs-org/KE-complex_modifications.git and write your own mod.


How to make Mac shut down when fully charged? Since I have heard that keeping on the charger plugged while the battery is at 100% will degrade battery life, I would like to find a way to make the Mac switch off by itself when it reaches 100%. This is mainly for when I want to charge the laptop overnight.

Is the first claim true? Also, if it is, how can I get the Mac to shut down by itself when it reaches 100% charge?

The claim is not true.

The only thing that has been proven to degrade battery life is heat, which also means overnight charging with your Mac sleeping is better than charging it while in use.

Switching it off doesn't make a difference.


Can Apple block someone for updating? My friend violated Apple's NDA a while back with the beta of OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 Now he can't update.

He was stupid and now he freaks out because he can't update to the final version of OS X 10.9.4. Should he contact Apple? Or is it just his Mac? Like an server issue or something.

The Problem is, he is using 10.9.4 - which is the newst OS Release.

Public BETA Release was the same as the Final one
He has a newer Seed Number or Same Build Number so he don't have to update

he can try the Combo Update but on his own riskt. Make a Backup bevore.

And in the Other Answers are some huge misunderstandings:

OS X 10.9 is and will be FREE FOR ALL
Apple Changed nothing for 10.9 user to Yosemite Servers
there are now Public Betas for everybody
Apple is still seeding beta updates for Mavericks


How to avoid iTunes asking for iCloud account? iTunes always asks me to log into my iCloud account. I do not want to use iCloud. This message to log in drives me crazy, it pops up every five minutes. How can I stop/avoid this, while still using iTunes?

To make it clear: I do not want to connect to Apple services all the time. I have an Apple ID, but when I created it, it was for the online service. I have bought music on iTunes, but after testing it I went to only buy DRM free music somewhere. However, I like the hardware, I like many things regarding Mac OS, but I have my own clouds and I do not want to connect to some internet service all the time.

There is a similar question here: iTunes asking for password for wrong iTunes account

iTunes is requesting that you sign in with your Apple ID. Your Apple ID is used to associate your iTunes purchases and credit details with iTunes.

An iCloud account is not the same as an iTunes account, but typically, one uses the same Apple ID for both. However, it is possible for one to use a DIFFERENT Apple ID for iCloud and iTunes. In fact, this is quite normal for those that shared iTunes purchases with other family members before Apple implemented Family Sharing.

The answer is simple: create separate Apple IDs for iCloud or iTunes. If your Apple ID is currently used for iCloud, feel free to create a new one just for iTunes.

Note that iTunes doesn't use iCloud for music, or storage, or really anything, so it is not clear what is the basis for your objection.


Permission of ~/.Trash is always gone after Time machine backup Every day, permission of ~/.Trash is always gone(Pic1). And .Trash become zero bytes file.

That mean, I can't move files to Trash, and Finder will delete files immediately.

Every time ~/.Trash go wrong, I fix the problem by sudo rm -ri ~/.Trash and reboot mac, to create new Trash with normal permission. But, trash won't work again just after 1~2 hour.

(Permission of Trash on iCloud Drive is not affected-which means I can still remove files on iCloud Drive to trash.)

What I tried

sudo rm -ri ~/.Trash
remove and recreate .Trash on the iCloud path too.
use 'Appy enclosed items...' from home folder.
just don't use any kinds of 'optimization app' or 'cleaner app.'
reinstall clean macOS.
use disktuil on an internal drive and external drives.

Maybe...

I guess the problem comes with Time Machine backup, but I don't know why.

Because I found that, whenever Time Machine auto-backup starts and done, next time I boot the mac, it happens again.

It happens for both wired external Time machine drive and wireless drive on Nas, and it happens even I clean up the external drive and restart Time machine from the empty drive.

I solve the problem by checking which process use .Trash path by lsof | grep ~/.Trash

I found that the background service of VyprVPN app use /.Trash (still I don't know why). So I clean up VyprVPN app. Problem solved.


My Xcode 7.2 Version is not installing I am trying to download the Xcode 7.2.1 Version, but it just keeps saying installing on my computer, and nothing is happening. What do I do?

7.2 requires El Captain if I'm right, so make sure you're on El Captain on your Mac otherwise it won't install


Whats the best way to automatically start an app if its not running? I want to automatically start an application if its not running.   My use is case that if I quit a particular application I want to automatically restart.  Specifically in my case its the Messages app.

I always want to keep the Messages app running so if I quit Messages I want it to restart.

What's the best way to handle this?

What you are looking for is launchd.

It will allow you to run an app continuously (auto-start at boot, relaunch when it quits/crash)

To use it add a plist file in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
        <key>RunAtLoad</key>
        <true/>
        <key>KeepAlive</key>
        <true/>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>SomeApp.restart</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
                <string>/path/to/SomeApp.app/Contents/MacOS/SomeApp</string>
        </array>
        <key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
        <dict>
            <key>Hour</key>
            <integer>5</integer>
            <key>Minute</key>
            <integer>10</integer>
       </dict>
</dict>
</plist>

Then load it once with  launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/SomeApp.restart.plist

The RunAtLoad option will launch the application the first time launchctl runs this.
The KeepAlive option will re-launch the application if it crashes.
The StartCalendarInterval will run it at a certain time. Presumably this is mutually exclusive with the previous two, but is included to show what can be done with launchd
Launchctl will run this after reboots.


Where does Synergy store the crypto setting? I want to turn it off I installed Synergy on Mac OS Mavericks, to act as a keyboard and mouse server for a win7 desktop.

Initially when I launched it, Synergy for Mac put up a config screen and I selected the "crypto" option.

The other machines aren't set to crypto, and thus would not connect.

I want to disable the crypto setting on the Mac (at least temporarily) until I get this up and running smoothly, but I can't find where this initial choice is kept.

It doesn't seem to be in the server config settings page anywhere that I can see..

I have fully deleted the Synergy app folder,
Deleted a bunch of Synergy related files via the command line and searching the whole hard drive with find -name *ynergy*  etc,
Then reinstalled from scratch, but the new install found some setting info somewhere and went right to to the server setup and started running with crypto enabled again.

I obviously was not able to fully wipe synergy from the file system since it found that crypto setting and ran it again...

There must be some other file without the word synergy in the filename that's keeping the settings..

I had the same problem, as I expected it to be part of the server configuration.

You can change it by going to MenuBar -> Synergy -> Preferences -> Encryption.


I deleted /usr/local/bin on my Mac. Is there any way I can see what was installed there? I accidentally ran rm -rf /usr/local/bin.  Yes, I know, I'm an idiot.

Is there anything short of attempting to run every single application on my Mac to see what applications need to be reinstalled?

Most GUI Applications don't touch /usr/local/bin, so the Applications in your /Applications folder should still be in working condition. Some do install command line tools, but usually there is a menu item in the help or program menu to reinstall that command line item. Bottom line: If you don't use the command line much, you should be fine. If you use it frequently, you will see a "File not found" error when trying to run the command.

The only way to see what was in there, is indeed a backup.


Chrome loading inconsistently after Mojave upgrade After the Mojave upgrade my Google Chrome has consistently loaded slow and often will spin and not to connect to a website. The option is to switch to Safari (AS I Am doing now)

I have reset chrome, cleared all cache, uninstall and re-install.

When I force quit I do get a crash message that I share with google.

I have also tried both incognito as well as regular. See attached

NOTE: I tried loading Chrome:extensions from chrome and it just spins without loading

See attached screen shot of what it does indefinitely

I would recommend you to remove all Google Chrome extensions via the command-line and then try again.

You might have one that is not working properly and causing it to crash. If you properly want to start fresh maybe following this might be an option:

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/t_Q2_PZiXcA


How do I change my TimeMachine volume in a script I have a TM volume on my desk at work and I also have one at home. That way, I have a better shot of my data surviving a disaster. Right noow I have to manually change the TM volume based on where I am.

I'd like to use some location aware software (like Marco Polo) and have it just switch the volume. I tried using Applescript and Automator to make the switch but I haven't been able to be consistently successful.

I'm looking for a more terminal/shellscript based way to switch the TM volume.

Any ideas?

Time Machine supports multiple backup volumes on Mountain Lion.

  Backup to multiple locations

  Time Machine allows you to choose multiple backup locations and seamlessly switch between them. Now you can have a backup of your data at work and at home.


Charger that lets you use an iPod Touch while charging? Are there any chargers that let you use an iPod Touch while it's being charged?

I have a simple wall charger, but it disables the iPod's audio while it's plugged in.  I can plug the iPod into a laptop, but that seems a bit inconvenient and inefficient.  I even tried using a clock with a built-in iPod dock, but the clock always tries to start playing iPod music whenever the iPod is plugged in and also tries to disable the iPod's built-in speakers.

I have an Apple USB Power Adapter that came with my iPhone and in no way does it prevent me from using any feature of my device while charging. I can play audio out of the built-in speaker as well as through the headphone jack without issue. I'm not sure what wall charger you have, but if it's the Apple USB Power Adapter you should try to return it or exchange it as yours is likely defective.


Should I protect (encrypt) my app's database or is it automatically protected from other apps? My app asks the user several questions then stores all the answers in a local sqlite database file (e.g. answers.db). No data is transmitted outside the phone but answers are stored to let the user reflect on her old/previous answers on a monthly/yearly basis. Some answers may include highly confidential / sensitive information (e.g. religion, health, etc.) and I am worried this file may pose a risk.

Can other apps installed in the same iPhone read this sqlite file? And can a file explorer copy/paste this file if the user connects the iPhone to her computer?

In summary: should I manually encrypt my app files or is Apple automatically taking care of this? I have browsed Apple security documentation and this information is difficult to find (for me).

Anyone knows?

You must actively encrypt sensitive data. This is the only way you can reliably manage the risk involved.

Every iOS application's data is stored within a container. In theory only your application and the operating system can access the contents of this container.

You can opt for the operating system to handle the encryption for your app:

  Encrypting Your App’s Files

  Protect the user’s data in iOS by encrypting it on disk.

  Overview

  Data protection is an iOS feature that you use to secure your app’s files and prevent unauthorized access to them. Data protection is enabled automatically when the user sets an active passcode for the device. You read and write your files normally, but the system encrypts and decrypts your content behind the scenes. The encryption and decryption processes are automatic and hardware accelerated.

  …

  Files containing personal information about the user, or files created directly by the user, always warrant the strongest level of protection. Assign the complete protection level to user data files and manage access to those files using the app delegate methods. The app delegate methods give you time to close the files before they become inaccessible to your app.


Are Passbook Passes Available Outside the Sandbox? With Third Party software, or manually mounting the iPhone to your computer, it's possible to access a limited amount of information. Music, Photos, and App Data. Without breaking the Sandbox, you can never get to the OS itself, and certain data stores.

Are Passbook Passes accessible within this Sandbox? I'd be awesome to see what data is actually contained within them.

I wrote to Macroplant, who make the iExplorer utility that I bought some time ago, and they pointed me to the fact that Passbook Cards are available in the backup data.

When using iExplorer, they're located in the 'Backup Explorer' section, under HomeDomain/Library/Passes/Cards, the Backup Explorer section is apparently a logical mapping of ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/.

That's good enough for me, since data is routinely backed up. I can backup and instantly access my current cards.

Thank you Mike, on the Macroplant Support Team!


How to make the "Don't save" or "delete" options the default? I often start up an app to do something quickly, e.g. quicktime, record some audio, check it out, then I'll ⌘Q out of it.

I don't know about other people but generally for me ⌘Q means "be gone as fast as possible"

I always get prompted with these though:

Can I make the "Delete" or "Don't save"-type options the default?

So I can just hit enter when the dialogue appears and quit the app without saving any changes to that document?

The options you want to make the default, are the options that are the most likely to cause data loss, and so they are not the default for a reason. However, you mentioned quitting using the ⌘Q key, so you’re not afraid to use keyboard shortcuts.

I mention this because the Mac OS usually allows you to select a button in a dialog by hitting ⌘ and the first letter of the button’s text. In the ‘Delete’ or ‘Don’t save’ case, this would mean you can dismiss the dialog and not save by hitting ⌘D. For ‘Revert’, hit ⌘R.

It’s not as convenient as ⌘Q and Enter, but it’s still two keystrokes. And without opening you up to potential data loss by default.


How to re-download Lion from Mountain Lion I'm currently running Mountain Lion, but I'd like to redownload Lion (to create a bootable install drive).
However, when I click the download button in the App Store, I receive a message telling me my current OS X is newer and the download will not start.

Does anyone know a way to download Lion when already running Mountain Lion?

Official Answer:

Unfortunately, it is not possible to download OS X Lion 10.7 from a computer currently running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 unless you want to do a little hacking see below for more on that.

I would like to be proved wrong, but the results around the web such as Apple Support Communities - How do I download Lion if I'm running Mountain Lion? kind of confim you can no longer just download 10.7 from a Mac running 10.8.

I Attempted to Download OS X Lion from a Mountain Lion Mac but no amount of option key tricks could get it to work.
The Lion re-download started immediately on a Mac running OS X Lion 10.7.4

Confirming, you will need to download the "OS X Lion" Installer from a computer not running Mountain Lion. This limits downloading OS X Lion to a Mac running OS X Lion 10.7, or OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later. Once you meet the requirements for OS X Lion the Mac App Store will allow you to download an already purchased version of OS X Lion.

Super User Hack: Yes its possible to download Lion from Mountain Lion if you perform the following hack, as usual proceed at your own risk.

Here is what we are you are going to do Temporarily trick OS X Mountain Lion into thinking it is Lion. by version number alone.

Open the Terminal App
Open the SystemVersion.plist file with sudo privileges I used vim but feel free to  use your favorite command line text editor, some GUI program like TextEdit seem to complain of locked files, etc a.k.a "...a bag of hurt."

So to avoid nonsense like the following Duplicate message below, use an editor thats less aware of OS X file versioning.

"This Works:"

$ sudo vim /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist
Edit the file changing 10.8 to 10.7 for the following lines

Find the lines in the file that look like this:

    ...
<key>ProductUserVisibleVersion</key>
<string>10.8</string>
<key>ProductVersion</key>
<string>10.8</string>
    ...

Change it to look like so:

...
<key>ProductUserVisibleVersion</key>
<string>10.7</string>
<key>ProductVersion</key>
<string>10.7</string>
...

Save the file, keep the editor open...

For vim use :w! to force save the file.
Open the Mac App Store and click download for "OS X Lion" in your purchases. Unhide it if its hidden.
In your open editor window change your OS version number back to "10.8" in the SystemVersion.plist file. You can do this while you are waiting for Lion to finish downloading in the Mac App Store.

For vim use :wq! to force save the file and exit the editor.
Ignore the message from the Lion Installer that runs on OS X Mountain Lion after the Lion installer has finished downloading as pictured below. Note: This is what you will see if you attempt to run the Lion Installer from Mountain Lion.

Grab the "Install Mac OS X Lion" installer from the Applications folder a.k.a /Applications.
Now, you are ready to make a bootable Lion install drive.


Can I upgrade MacBook Pro 13" with HDD I'm planning to buy MacBook Pro 13" 256GB SSD but i find it too expensive. I thought that it would be better if i buy 128gb SSD and upgrade it with an HDD storage. Is that possible? If not, is Apple still selling the old MBP?

The latest MacBook Pro 13" (MacBookPro12,1) comes with a special internal HD interface based on PCIe and uses a special form factor for the SSD. Check the ifixit replacement guide how it looks like. This replacement guide shows a MacBook Pro 2014 but the SSD in the recent model looks similar.
So internally there is neither space nor an appropriate interface to upgrade it with HDD storage.

The last MacBook Pro 13" with a SATA interface and an HDD is the MacBookPro9,2. Check the link in the answer provided by Tuan Anh Tran where to purchase it.


Can't see old time machine backups I've installed a new HDD in my iMac, so i reinstalled OS X. I used migration assistant to set back only the settings. I also wanted to set back some other folders, but since my new HDD was smaller than the original one I wanted to dive in this later on.

Now I have setup time machine for my new installation of OS X (with the same computer name). Frankly I can't access the files/folders of the old backup anymore. In time machine the dates of the backups show up, but I can't move to them. Also migration assistant only shows the new backups and not the old ones anymore. I think the old backups are still there, since the time machine backup file is around 500 GB and the backups from the new installation are around 40 GB.

Is there a way I can get to the old backups?

Time machine can be problematic. A couple of things to try:

open a folders that you can't access in finder, right click > get info, and check permissions. Does your user have read & write permission?
make sure your new HD disk name is the same as the old one.
try to access through time machine or finder.
give it time - there are references in the apple forums of backups not being browsable right away, but eventually becoming available.


iPhone on my account, but activation locked to another account I've had a secondhand iPhone for three years, using it with my iCloud account. Just now I tried to wipe it with an iTunes restore. The first step was to disable Find My iPhone. Doing so, I received a confirmation email that the phone is now unlocked. To my surprise, upon reset, it went into activation lock mode and asked for the previous owner's login.

The phone is listed in my iCloud Settings. Should I try to track down the previous owner, or will removing it from my own iCloud Settings page free it? (But removing it will also wipe the last evidence that the phone is mine.)

Another way of looking at the question: Can a single phone be listed in several iCloud accounts?

It seems that the official Apple line on this is that they only provide support if you have the device's original receipt, end of story. They don't want to admit fault for this issue. Worst part is, they should be able to tell when their database has two duplicate Find My iPhone records for the same device.


Cannot add applications to favorites bar in Finder I am a new Macbook user, which is exciting but alas confusing as well. I am trying to add favorites in the side bar under Finder. I read that one can just drag and drop from Applications as in this thread - How can I add new folders to the Favorites in the Finder sidebar?.

However, when I have done it, it does not stick and the icon just goes back into the Applications list as if I have not done anything.

Does anyone know what I might be doing wrong or why this isn't working?

Thanks!

Although this tip does not add Application Alias' to the Sidebar, they can be added to the toolbar.
Add Application Shortcuts (Alias') to the Finder Toolbar

Open 2 Finder Windows (From Finder use ⌘+N)
Be sure one of them is showing your Applications Folder and both can be seen on screen together
Using the other Finder Window, right click or option+click in the toolbar area and select Customize Toolbar... from the dropdown.  (This can also be accessed from the Menu - View > Customize Toolbar...)
Drag your desired application from the first window (your Applications Folder) to the Toolbar on the Finder Window being edited.  Select Done button and all Finder Windows will now display your favorite Apps for quick access.  See the screenshots below.


Using TextEdit for HTML Is there a way to open a HTML file in TextEdit without it rendering the file but just showing it as source (and possibly edit it)?

It is in TextEdit help - search for HTML

  If you open an HTML file and don’t see the HTML code, TextEdit is displaying the file in the same way a browser would. You can choose to display the file’s HTML code instead.

  To display the code in an HTML file:

  Choose File > Open.

  Select “Ignore rich text commands.”

  Locate the file and click Open.

  To always view the code in HTML files,
  choose TextEdit > Preferences, click
  “Open and Save,” and then select
  “Ignore rich text commands in HTML
  files” below “When Opening a File.”

So it seems you have to choose before opening the file.


Can't download Xcode Beta 3 without Apple Developer membership Prior to this, one could easily download Xcode Beta from Apple Developer portal with only their Apple ID. There was no need for Apple Developer membership. (I downloaded Xcode 7 Beta 1 without any problems.) But now that Xcode 7 Beta 3 is released, after I click the download button and sign in using my Apple ID, this page.

I'm not aware of any announcements regarding this issue. Is there some kind of bug involved or Apple limited the access to Xcode Beta for registered developers?

Seems like the problem is resolved. I can download Xcode Beta from Apple Developer website.


iTunes Connect - Release time if app is set to specific launch date? My first iPhone app is currently in "pending developer release" mode.
At what time will the app be released if I choose to release it on a specific date?

Via: >iTunes Connect >Select the availability date and price tier for your app. >Availability Date:

Will the release date be at midnight (12:01 AM) US time? (I'm in Austria, Europe)

You can set only the date because it's impossible to release an app in a minute. From the pression of release button to effective global availability takes a few hour: there's the "preparation for the store" state which takes some minutes then your app start appearing in some stores all around the world but, if you try to get, you can get some errors then, in more or less 2-3 hours, it's stably on sale all around the world.

Same thing from prices change.

That's the history of an update of my app:

  Feb. 24, 2015 13:33      Me....      Waiting for review

  Mar. 03, 2015 08:35      Apple   In review

  Mar. 03, 2015 09:40      Apple   Preparing for App Store

  Mar. 03, 2015 09:45      Apple   Ready for Sale

But it took a few hours more to be effective available...


Adding alias of an App or actual App onto the right side of Dock How do I do add an app placed on the right side of the Dock as shown?  (On the right of the line separator, along with the Downloads and Trash icons).
This is on a Macbook Air 2015 running Mac OS Catalina, I had this machine since the default OS on Macbook Air 2015.  Probably added the app icon there during Mac OS Mojave.
Reason for asking is that I remember actually adding MacVim.app onto the position as shown but forgot how to duplicate this.  I don't believe I used any non-native stuff to do this.
If anyone knows a better place to ask this question, please tell me.
Thanks.

The dock area on the right side of the line separator is reserved for recently used apps. You can go to System Preferences > Dock and tick Show recent applications in the Dock. However, note that it will only keep recent apps and is not customisable.


Is there a way to change the order of previous recipients in Apple mail? John Doe is someone I email often.  John Dee is someone I emailed recently and will probably email again, but not nearly as often.  I don't want to remove John Dee from my previous recipients, but I want John Doe to come up first again for quick compleion.  (I'm sure that otherwise I'm going to accidentally send John some mail meant for John.)  I can't find any way to reorder entries in the Previous Recipients window.  Is there any way to make Doe come up first again?

I tried adding Doe but not Dee to my Address Book, but that didn't help.

You can type Doe instead of John in the address fields (To, Cc, Bcc, Reply-To) when composing an email message.


Can I use someone's Apple ID Email to Text Them on Their iPad if I Don't Have an iPhone? Can I send a text to a friend's iPad if I use their email address as their Apple ID? I have an Amazon Fire smartphone.

Will the message get to them from my phone?

Yes, you can send a text message to your friend using your Amazon Fire, to their iPad, but only if they have an iPhone as well.

If they do, then your message will either go SMS (Short Message Service), which is basically what you know as a text message, or MMS (Multimedia Message Service), which is what gets sent when you send a photo to a friend with a text messaging app.

Your friend will need to have iMessage set up on their iPad, and they will need to have an iPhone as well in order to receive SMS/MMS messages from someone not on iMessage.

The setting for this is actually in the iPhone's settings. It will not matter if you send it through an email address or a telephone number, if they do not have an iPhone, and you are not sending the text through iMessage, their iPad will not get the message. If you had an iPhone or iPad or Mac with iMessage on it, then you could in fact send text messages to one another via iMessage, as those messages travel exclusively on Apple's network.

I do not know for sure, but I have a feeling that SMS/MMS go through the Mobile Network Provider's system and only gets to Apple's iMessage network when it goes from the Mobile Service to the iPhone, which then can reroute it to iMessage and then to the devices linked to that iPhone.