Numbers MAX Formula unexpected result Goal: Display MAX (greatest) current result from column which keeps growing
Current issue: I can have all current entries regarded, however a newer, higher value gets ignored.
Attempts to set up : =(MAX(NAME OF COLUMN)) Returns !. =(MAX(Cell_1:Last_cell)) returns all existing values and ignores the new ones.
Also changed: All cells refer to decimal numbers with 2 digits.
What do I have to do to make the formula work?
Frustratingly enough I am working with an Apple template and have copied 1:1 the format that they use…

I would just give max() the column to work with and it will take the max of all values found. The only danger is if someone adds data further down the column...
See:


Will Apple replace my broken Lightning cable for free? I have an iPhone 6 and bought AppleCare for it. The Lightning cable that came with it is starting to split (see the picture). It still charges fine, to the best of my knowledge, but is it eligible for a free replacement under AppleCare?

I have had the same situation happen to me with 2 phones actually.  Apple did replace them under warranty.

If you have access to an Apple Store:

Either walk in or make a Genius Bar appointment
Be sure to have your iPhone with you
Apple will need your IMEI number from your device

To get the IMEI number go to Settings > General > About (The Apple rep can assist you)

They will then provide you with a new cable after verifying your eligibility.

If you do not have an Apple Store that you can get to, call AppleCare for instructions.


Export iPhoto library onto Time Machine? I have Time Machine, and am looking to have iphoto continuously and automatically back up my pictures. (I have so many images and would like them safely on a hard drive).
I had to drag/copy my iPhoto library onto Time Machine, and I can open it and view pictures, but they are only the ones that were there at the time, and none of the new images that have been imported since then.

I also know how to switch back and forth from the two iphoto libraries, my default one and the external library, but again same problem - only the older images appear when it's under the library of the external hard drive.

For some reason the iPhoto library which should be under Pictures, is nowhere on my Time Machine. How do I place the iPhoto library back into Time Machine, and have it just automatically back it up so that I don't manually have to do it? (I've tried googling this but can't find a black and white answer).

Time Machine automatically copies everything on your user folder, so you don't have to manually drag your iPhoto library to your external drive to back it up. Unless of course you have excluded some files or folders on the Time Machine preference pane, in which case no backups of such resources are being made.

In order to see the library on your Time Machine backup, you would have to mount your .sparsebundle and then look for it, and it does not seem to be the case.


How does iOS detect the version of an installed app? How does iOS detect the version of an installed app, to figure out whether or not an update (release with higher version) of the app is available?

Is the app's info.plist taken into account or does the App Store app do some bookkeeping?

It’s the Info.plist, heavily cached. Changing this on a jailbroken device is a common way to prevent App Store updates for an app.


After installing a dictionary deinstalling apps doesn‘t work I installed a dictionary under the newest ipados and since then I‘m not able to deinstall the app. I tried already using the deinstallation over the manager of the ipad-storage under the  general settings but there isn‘t even the button for deinstalling apps, even if I choose another app.
Do you have a hint except erasing the ipad and renewing the system?

Based on the comments, I think this is related to Screen Time.

Assuming you're the owner and don't want Screen Time on or that it was turned on by mistake, simply go to Settings -> Screen Time -> Content & Privacy.

Tap on iTunes & App Store Purchases.  Make sure the setting for 'Deleting Apps' is 'Allow'.

From there you can back out and leave the rest of the settings as-is or turn off the restrictions.  To turn off restrictions, turn off the 'Content & Privacy Restrictions' switch.  You might be prompted for your password or PIN to do this.

The image below is from an iPhone but the flow and look are similar to the iPad.


IPhone 5c volume problems Ringer and message alerts does not always working. Volume up in settings and silencer is off. Help. I have tried shutting it down.

There is a known bug with the Facebook app which lowers the volume if you have it running in the background. Try double tapping the home button twice and remove Facebook from there and see if that fixes it the issue.


I deleted .bash_history, now history isn't saved anymore (although I re-created it) I have freshly installed a new copy of El Capitan. I accidently deleted .bash_history, so I just did a touch .bash_history again, hoping this would solve the problem of my bash history not being remembered when closing and re-opening the terminal.

But it didn't. And I have no idea why.

Macbuech:~ josh$ ~/.bash_history
-bash: /Users/josh/.bash_history: Permission denied
Macbuech:~ josh$ ls ~/.bash_history
/Users/josh/.bash_history
Macbuech:~ josh$ echo $HISTSIZE
500
Macbuech:~ josh$ echo $HISTFILESIZE
500
Macbuech:~ josh$ echo $HISTFILE
/Users/josh/.bash_sessions/9817540A-F021-4E1A-93A1-B322BC4738AB.historynew
Macbuech:~ josh$ echo $HISTTIMEFORMAT

I fiddled around a bit with .bash_profile to get some colors working, according to this article:

export PS1="\[\033[36m\]\u\[\033[m\]@\[\033[32m\]\h:\[\033[33;1m\]\w\[\033[m\]\$ "
export CLICOLOR=1
export LSCOLORS=ExFxBxDxCxegedabagacad
alias ls='ls -GFh'

I removed all the stuff again to make sure the problem's not lying there. So here's my .bash_profile:

[[ -s "$HOME/.profile" ]] && source "$HOME/.profile" # Load the default .profile
[[ -s "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm" ]] && source "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm" # Load RVM into a shell session *as a function*

This site states that there may be a problem with RVM, and I tried adding a .bash_logout with shell_session_update in it, but no success.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Here's my complete env:

Macbuech:~ josh$ env
rvm_bin_path=/Users/josh/.rvm/bin
TERM_PROGRAM=Apple_Terminal
GEM_HOME=/Users/josh/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.4
SHELL=/bin/bash
TERM=xterm-256color
IRBRC=/Users/josh/.rvm/rubies/ruby-2.2.4/.irbrc
TMPDIR=/var/folders/sq/92dr708946s01kttg916m6xm0000gn/T/
Apple_PubSub_Socket_Render=/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.9AJd6SsR1y/Render
TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION=361.1
MY_RUBY_HOME=/Users/josh/.rvm/rubies/ruby-2.2.4
TERM_SESSION_ID=9817540A-F021-4E1A-93A1-B322BC4738AB
rvm_stored_umask=0022
USER=josh
_system_type=Darwin
rvm_path=/Users/josh/.rvm
SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.gZZeyimp2O/Listeners
__CF_USER_TEXT_ENCODING=0x1F5:0x0:0x0
rvm_prefix=/Users/josh
PATH=/Users/josh/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.4/bin:/Users/josh/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.4@global/bin:/Users/josh/.rvm/rubies/ruby-2.2.4/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/Users/josh/.rvm/bin
rvm_loaded_flag=1
PWD=/Users/josh
_system_arch=x86_64
XPC_FLAGS=0x0
_system_version=10.11
XPC_SERVICE_NAME=0
rvm_version=1.26.11 (master)
SHLVL=1
HOME=/Users/josh
LOGNAME=josh
GEM_PATH=/Users/josh/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.4:/Users/josh/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.4@global
LC_CTYPE=UTF-8
RUBY_VERSION=ruby-2.2.4
rvm_user_install_flag=1
_system_name=OSX
_=/usr/bin/env

I encountered the same problem after willingly deleting the .bash_history file.

The simple solution is to not only touch the file but also add some text - one or several line feeds are not sufficient:

echo "exit" >> ~/.bash_history

Then completely quit Terminal and reopen it. If you've saved all your work in all terminal sessions, you can also just

killall Terminal

Update:

I tried to replicate your environment in a 10.11 VM and it's indeed a problem with RVM: commenting out all rvm related lines in .profile and .bash_profile re-enables updates of the .bash_history file.

The .bash_logout file method (with the content shell_session_update) seems to work reliably here though. Just remember to always enter exit before closing a Terminal window or quitting Terminal. Without entering exit the history won't be updated.


Where does the notification sound come from in OS X? I'm using El Capitan, and this happens in Yosemite as well.
Once a while I hear the notification sound, same as the sound when a new email arrive in Mail.app. But nowhere can I find where it comes from. There is no new email, or any red badge shows up in the icons in the dock or launch pad. And there is no new notification in the notification centre, and no alert appeared in the upper right corner of the screen. It appears nothing happened, except for the notification sound. How can I find what app generates it?

I seems that I use filters in GMail to skip inbox, and the sound is actually come from Mail.app. As a result, no new mail arrives to the Inbox of Mail.app, but to the Archive of the Mail.app.

In the preference of Mail.app, one option is to choose "Inbox Only" for "New message notifications". But it seems that this option will not mute the new messages sound when new message arrive to other mailbox, only skip the notification alert that shows up in the upper right corner of the screen.


If I create a Game Center account, will I lose my Clash of Clans village? I don't have a Game Center account and I play clash of clans. If I create an account, will I lose my village?

You won't lose your clash of clans progress by making a Game Center account.


Install older OSX a dual boot on a computer with OSX High sierra I need to install a secondary OSX, older one, like yosemite or something, on a computer, which has High sierra installed. The problem is it has the crazy APFS file system, which doesn't seem to allow normal partitions (at least the Disk utility doesn't seem to do that) and it also says that it cannot run Yosemite installer, because it's too old for this computer... Any ideas?

I'm also trying to download the OSX High sierra installer and the damn App Store is saying "downloading", but that's it, no clue how far it is or if it is actually downloading...

Note: The OP has reported that this procedure initially failed to work on a 2015 MacBook Pro. However, if you read the comments, the OP eventually successed. The procedure does work on my 2013 iMac.

I am not sure I understand exactly how VirtualBox works, but I have always assumed the hardware was virtual. Therefore, if a particular operating system would run on one machine, then it should run on any machine where VirtualBox is installed. I suppose there are certain obvious limitations due to machine hardware, such as:

The amount of physical memory.
The physical number of cores.
The speed of the USB ports.
Whether the processor is 32 bit or 64 bit.
The amount of drive space available.
The speed of processor, memory and logic (mother) board).

The reason I bring up this issue is that I have a 2013 iMac that can run Yosemite, but I would prefer to run High Sierra. Unfortunately, I also have software (such as Adobe CS5) that does not work well with High Sierra. I have found it to be relatively trivial to install Yosemite as a guest in VirtualBox. The instructions are based on website OS X on OS X. These instructions also state that newer Macs have to fake the processor in order to run Yosemite. Since I do not have a newer Mac, I can not test to see if this is true. So, you will have to try the instructions for yourself.

  Before anyone complains, according to the SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR OS X YOSEMITE this is legal to do.

To be complete, I have repeated the instructions below. Just so you know, the file Yosemite.dmg, that is created below, should be inserted into the virtual optical drive.

Requirement

Install OS X.app purchased in Mac App Store
iESD

VirtualBox Settings

‑ Operating System Version: Mac OS X (64 bit)

‑ Base Memory: 2048 MB (larger is better)

‑ Enable EFI

In the lastest VirtualBox, all the default settings work well.

  Some people encountered black screen upon booting the virtual machine. They reported that changing the default chipset ICH9 to PIIX3 fixes this issue.

Prepare Install Disk

gem install iesd

  iESD requires ruby-1.9.2 or later.

Yosemite & Mavericks

The new InstallESD.dmg is not bootable. Therefore, we need to create a bootable install disk with BaseSystem.dmg.

iesd -i /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app -o Yosemite.dmg -t BaseSystem

All Macs using Intel Haswell CPU (Macs after 2013) need to fake their CPU as Ivy Bridge in order to boot the virtual machine. Thank @danmccombs for this tip.

VBoxManage modifyvm <vmname> --cpuidset 00000001 000306a9 00020800 80000201 178bfbff

On Mac Pro Early 2009 and other Macs that have ECC memory, AppleTyMCEDriver.kext will cause a kernel panic during the boot. Thus we need to remove it.

iesd -i /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app -o Yosemite.dmg -t BaseSystem --uninstall-extension AppleTyMCEDriver.kext

Finally, I have included instructions for setting the screen resolution. You can only change the resolution while the virtual machine is powered off. To set the horizontal and vertical (HxV) resolution for virtual machine named VM name, enter the commands given below.

VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "CustomVideoMode1" "HxVx32"
VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution HxV

For example, to set the horizontal and vertical resolution to 1824x1026 for the virtual machine named Yosemite hosted by an iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), you would need to enter the commands given below.

VBoxManage setextradata "Yosemite" "CustomVideoMode1" "1824x1026x32"
VBoxManage setextradata "Yosemite" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution 1824x1026

  Note: The main display of an iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013) has a maximum resolution of 1920x1080.


Why does this Applescript for talking to iTunes fail with timeout for some customers? This script works okay for me and most of my customers, but for a few customers it times out with error -1712; I've no idea why. I've tried increasing timeout, but it makes no difference.

The file /tmp/itunes_model.txt doesn't get created so it doesn't seem to be doing anything.

How can I debug/fix this?

with timeout of 1200 seconds
tell application "iTunes"

    if (count of every file track of library playlist 1) is equal to 0 then
        set thePath to (POSIX file "/tmp/itunes_model.txt")
        set fileref to open for access (thePath) with write permission
        set eof fileref to 0
        close access fileref
        return
    end if

    tell every file track of library playlist 1
        script performancekludge
            property tracknames : its name
            property locs : its location
            property persistids : its persistent ID
        end script
    end tell
end tell

set thePath to (POSIX file "/tmp/itunes_model.txt")
set fileref to open for access (thePath) with write permission
set eof fileref to 0

tell performancekludge
    repeat with i from 1 to length of its tracknames
        try
            set nextline to item i of its tracknames ¬
                & "::" & POSIX path of item i of its locs ¬
                & "::" & item i of its persistids
            write nextline & linefeed as «class utf8» to fileref
        end try
    end repeat
end tell
close access fileref
end timeout

Added a try-catch around the error as requested and reran; the first time it was run it actually worked which is interesting, but the second time it failed again gleaning no more useful information.

It should something like this:

tell application "iTunes"
    with timeout of 1200 seconds
    ...
    end timeout
end tell

Your timeout should be inside the tell block instead before/above/outside of it.

It seems as if you might be setting the timeout for the script itself instead of iTunes which has a default timeout of 120 seconds (all applications have a default timeout of 2 minutes).

This could be failing for a number of reasons besides normal timeouts, such as if the person just upgraded iTunes, and your script opens it for the first time after it was recently installed, it won't be able to execute normal iTunes functions until after closing out of the splash screen that says "Welcome to iTunes version X - Check out all of the new features!, etc."

Also, it's been awhile since I've worked with AppleScript, so I don't recall whether or not if you tell a system application to do something if it automatically opens or not.  If not, it's possible, you may need to Tell SystemEvents to open application "ITunes" (or whatever the syntax is) -- or you could always use the do shellscript command to open the application, in which case the actual shell command would be open /Applications/iTunes.app/ -- which you can verify in Terminal.

The error could also be if the iTunes app needs GUI focus for these operations to take place and the application automatically loses focus while the script is being run when another application is opened or the user clicks away or some scenario of that sort, which your script will need to be able to account for.  In cases such as this, you may want to tell SystemEvents to activate application "iTunes" before any important actions take place.  This will cause the iTunes window to regain focus.

It may actually be this same SystemEvents command (you probably need to check/correct my syntax) that initially opens the application if it is not already open at the time the script is run.


Alt-Tabbing through windows I'm used to having Alt-Tab set to cycle forward through the windows of a single app and Shift-Alt-Tab to go backwards. I had this working on Yosemite by fiddling with the shortcuts in System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts.

But after upgrading to El Capitan, it is only Finder that responds to these commands, no other Apps, although they have not assigned this shortcut for something else.

Is there a way to enable this behaviour on El Capitan for all apps?

I am not sure I understand your problem. The functionality is there and works as expected. Go to System Preferences / Keyboard / Shortcuts / Keyboard and choose whatever key combination you want for switching windows in Move focus to next window setting, say Alt+Tab. This will switch application windows forward and Shift+Alt+Tab will switch application windows in reverse order, which is exactly what you wanted. The reverse order functionality is already implied by the Shift key and you don't need to set it separately. Mind you that if you choose combination that already includes the Shift key for forward order it will not imply the shortcut for reverse order without the Shift key.


Find the file that corresponds to a certain message in Mail.app? Every message in Mail.app corresponds to a file in the filesystem (typically located somewhere here /Users/[username]/Library/Mail/V3/[account name]).

Is there an easy way to locate the corresponding file? Searching for contents (phrases) of the message does not seem to work. I want to add "Finder tags" to certain messages.

I'm tempted to say the easiest way to do a file contents search in what Finder would consider a System location would be EasyFind - freeware, though it's one app I'd happily pay for. [No affiliation]

You can drag a folder to define the search domain, then search by Phrase in File Contents. You can either QuickLook the result, or right click & open in Mail or Reveal in Finder

I picked a fairly innocuous monthly summary from Backblaze as an example…

One thing to note is that the same mail may appear in more than one location. I really don't know why this is.


How to fix ssh login that starts asking for password and `ls .ssh` is permission denied? I use my Mac to login to remote hosts via Terminal.app using ssh and local stored keys a.k.a. passwordless login a.k.a authentication key login.

All of a sudden the new ssh login attempts are:

asking for the password, where before the logins were passwordless
return The authenticity of host XYZ can't be established.
yes answering Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? results in Failed to add the host to the list of known hosts (/Users/user/.ssh/known_hosts).

Also ls ~/.ssh results in all "Permission denied":

ls: authorized_keys: Permission denied
ls: config: Permission denied
ls: id_rsa: Permission denied
ls: id_rsa.pub: Permission denied
ls: known_hosts: Permission denied

How to fix this?

Wrong file permissions

Wrong permissions are set on some files inside the .ssh folder. Have a look at it from Terminal.app:

$ sudo ls -l ~/.ssh
-rw-r--r--+ 1 user  staff    393 27 nov 19:08 authorized_keys
-rw-r--r--+ 1 user  staff     16 26 apr  2016 config
-rw-------@ 1 user  staff   1743 16 sep  2008 id_rsa
-rw-r--r--@ 1 user  staff    400 16 sep  2008 id_rsa.pub
-rw-r--r--@ 1 user  staff  36654 26 nov 17:02 known_hosts

The first column (-rw-r--r--) displays the assigned unix file permissions for owner, group and others.

Read permissions for group and others are not allowed

The real issue here is not the first r on columns position 2, but the r's on position 5 and 8. This tells that group and others has read permissions for these files. And that read permission for others else then the file owner, is not permitted.

Fix

It can be fixed by removing all rights from group and everybody using the command chmod 600 filename. For this specific case a command that would work is:

$ sudo chmod 600 ~/.ssh/{authorized_keys,config,id_rsa.pub,known_hosts}

Result

After running this command the new permissons look like this:

$ ls -l ~/.ssh
total 104
-rw-------+ 1 user  staff   393B 27 nov 19:08 authorized_keys
-rw-------+ 1 user  staff    16B 26 apr  2016 config
-rw-------+ 1 user  staff   1,7K 16 sep  2008 id_rsa
-rw-------+ 1 user  staff   400B 16 sep  2008 id_rsa.pub
-rw-------+ 1 user  staff    36K 26 nov 17:02 known_hosts

Note: the ls command now runs without sudo.


Numbers: How do I make it display the full year I have a Numbers spreadsheet that shows the date as 5/6/21, but I want it to display the dates as 5/6/2021, the full year. How do I do that?

Select the cell(s) you wish to format and open the Format sidebar > Cell section. Here, choose "Date & Time" and configure the Date entry to an option with full years.
Read more in this Apple Support document: https://support.apple.com/guide/numbers/format-dates-currency-and-more-tan23393f3a/mac


Using Software Update Server I'm using Mavericks Server to serve Apple Software Updates to my various Macs. Apparently, I have to point the client at the server, specifying my URL "e.g. http://su.domain_name.com:8088/index.sucatalog".

How do I find out this info for my setup? I haven't defined a URL for my server on the local network; 8088 is I gather the default port for the Software Update Server; but I don't know where or what the file is called either.

Summary:

The simple way to configure a client to point to your Software Update server is using the following Terminal command on your client:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL http://su.domain_name.com:8088/index.sucatalog

Replace su.domain_name.com with your server's fully qualified domain name as specified in Server.app. You can find your FQDM by going to Server.app → [server name] → Access: Host Name:

You can change your FQDM by clicking the Edit… button on the right.

More detail:

Set a host name by going to Server.app → [server name] → Access: Host Name → Edit…. If you wish to access your server over the internet without VPN, choose Domain Name. Otherwise, choose one of the Local Network options.

Switch on the Software Update service.

Once the service has started, you can find the FQDM in the Access section.

Using this FQDM, you can find your CatalogURL by substituting this into the following URL:

http://[FQDM]:8088/index.sucatalog

For example, if my FQDM is reported under the Access section as server.example.private, my Software Update catalog would be located at http://server.example.private:8088/index.sucatalog.
On your clients, you can configure them by running the following Terminal command:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL [your-catalogURL]

Replace [your-catalogURL] with the URL that you got from step 4.

You can revert your settings by running the following Terminal command:

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL

Alternatively, you can use Profile Manger to provide OTA configuration using the Custom Settings section of your configuration profile.


iPhone vibrates several times a day with no visible notification Several times a day for the past several weeks, I'm noticing my phone briefly vibrating as though I've received a notification of some sort. However, upon checking, I have no new notifications of any kind.

Per the suggestion in How do I know which App is sending Vibrate-only Notification?, I've triple checked my notifications, and any app which has sound enabled (and therefore vibration when phone is muted) should also either badge the icon or appear in history or the lock screen. Neither is occurring.

Help?! As someone who disables the vast majority of notifications so I can stay focused during the day, this is driving me crazy!

Check your mail notifications specifically: it is possible to have vibration without sound or other notifications on a per account basis.

Settings > Mail > Notifications and then traverse each account. Make sure both sound and vibration are both set to none, if that’s what you want.


What machines will OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) run on? Has Apple announced which specific models of Macs will OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) run on and if so, what are they?

Business Insider lists the following Macs as compatible :

iMac (mid-2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Mini (Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)


How can I save a template email on my iPhone so I can send it repeatedly? I am about to head to a Meetup, and I would like to be able to share my contact information with other people I meet. I wanted to save a "template" email on my iPhone containing my contact information with my vCard attached so I could open it up, enter a person's email address, send it to them, and then repeat for the next person I met.

If I save a draft email and send it, then the draft goes away and I can't send it again. Is there any way to resend an email from the iPhone to a new address, or any way to edit a sent message and send it again?

How can I save a template email on my iPhone so I can send it repeatedly?

Use the Note App! Just type your email subject on the first line of the note. Hit return and type your body text. Each time you want to send this info to someone use the email function within the note. Your email is populated correctly and it's a really quick process. I use this system to send payment receipts to my guitar students.


Does the iPhone support the camera connection kit in 4.2? I know that the camera connection kit accessory has so far only worked on the iPad. I assume that this is the case because the iPad was running a special version of iOS 3, but seeing as iOS 4.2 is now in GM for both iPhone and iPad, I'm wondering if Apple has extended support for this accessory to the iPhone as well.

You can use the CCK to export photos off an iPhone and import them to the iPad (which isn't new), but no one has yet been able to get the CCK to hook an iPhone up to anything else.


How do I stop iTunes from automatically backing up the iPad? I'm trying to move some pictures from my laptop to my iPad, but every time the first thing iTunes starts doing is making a backup of the iPad.

But since I already keep a backup at my desktop, I want iTunes to back off and just let me move the pictures!

So how can I prevent iTunes from making automatic backups?

I'm using Windows 7. But feel free to leave OS X solutions as well.

Mac Answer:

You can disable device backups with this terminal command:

  defaults write com.apple.iTunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool true

More info here.


How do i help for Ford Sync hear my demands better? My Ford Sync does not seem to hear me when i request to make a call, or when I tell it who to call..  is there something i need to do or change in my settings.  I have it paired with a iphone 4.  thanks

My wife has a Fiesta with the Ford Sync system and she had a similar question when we first purchased it.  When she was giving voice commands she was directing her voice to her iPhone 4, either by holding it up to her face or holding it in front of her.  The problem though is that the Sync system uses a microphone built into the car, not your iPhone, for receiving voice commands.  I'm not at home so I can't say with 100% certainty but I'm pretty sure her microphone is to the left of the rear view mirror.  With that said the location may depend on whichever Ford model you have.

I would check the Ford's owner manual, it should show the location.


Struggling to understand the new BBM update I have an old iPhone that had the old version of BBM (Blackberry Messenger) installed. If I were to charge it and load the app (now that it is off of the AppStore and shut down) will I still be able to access my old chats or see old photos?

...will I still be able to access my old chats or see old photos?

No, they’re gone.

BBM messenger was shutdown May 31st, 2019 and users had until the following Friday to download messages, photos, videos, and files.

Source:  C|Net, BlackBerry Messenger shuts down: What you need to know

The “new” BBM app is their enterprise version and it’s completely different and is referred to in the article as a “replacement.”  Nothing was migrated from consumer to enterprise.


How to sign out of iCloud on iPhone and Macbook without having access to rescue email and with Find my iPhone and Find my Mac turned on? I have an iPhone 7 Plus and a Macbook Pro 15" 2014.
I was trying to make calls from Facetime Audio on Mac from my iPhone. My Apple ID was asked on Facetime on Mac. I entered my details and it told me that your account has been locked due to security reasons.
So please enter the answer to your security questions which I don't remember. I entered twice and it greyed out this option of security questions. Now the only thing I was left with was to email myself (through Apple) the reset link so as to reset the password. But here's the bad thing that happened to me: The email that I was using with iCloud and Apple ID was my previous employers email and since I left the job, I couldn't access it anymore. So I couldn't get the reset link. Same thing happened with me on both iOS and Macbook.

Now I can't have iCloud sync between both these devices, can't download anything from the appstores on both the devices. I tried signing out of iCloud on my iPhone (and on Mac) but since my Find my iPhone(Find my Mac on Mac) was ON, it didn't let me sign out. I backed up my iPhone and tried erasing all my iPhone so that I could log in with some new Apple ID but since FInd my iPhone was ON, I couldn't erase my device either. Also tried restoring through iTunes, but all in vain since Find my iPhone was ON.

What should I do now? My Macbook and my iPhone are my primary devices and I can't live without iCloud syncing on.

First of all, the comment by Patrix is an excellent way to start. I've helped many users by using the various options there (sometimes having to add other security email addresses, calling Apple Support, etc). This process may or may not be extremely frustrating - I've seen users sort things out pretty quickly, and others who have had to wait days for Apple to call them back once everything was sorted.

However, another option which may or may not be palatable to you is to just contact your previous employer.

About six weeks ago I came across a very similar situation, except in their case it was an old email address from an ISP they were no longer with. After some negotiation the old ISP agreed to recreate the email address at their end for one hour and set it up to autoforward to the user's current email address. During that hour the user was able to access the emails from iforgot.apple.com and change their email address etc.

Of course, in your case it may be a case of being allowed access to your old email (either because it still exists, or because they've recreated the address for you). Or they could set up an autoforward as happened in the above example.

If this isn't an option, then iforgot.apple.com really is your only option.


Keyboard shortcut to allow opening unsigned pkg file? I prefer to use keyboard shortcuts rather than the mouse. Is there a a way to define a keyboard shortcut equivalent to Right-Clicking a pkg file and choosing "Open", which warns about opening an unsigned package?

Note this is not the same as the regular File->Open, which simply rejects opening the package altogether.

You can do this with Keyboard Maestro using a macro such as this:


Blocked sign-in attempt to Google Account This morning I had an email in my Inbox from Google saying "We recently blocked a sign-in attempt to your Google Account (Date & Time: Saturday, January 10, 2015 3:01:26 AM UTC Location: Oxford, UK)"

They provide a link: https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity

This takes me to the following:

Originally it showed me the IP of the attack. I then put "what is my IP" into Google to discover that it is actually my own IP, so I clicked the "this is actually me" box, and hence I can no longer show the screenshot with the IP.

My question is: what could have caused this? I went to bed before midnight; I think I closed the lid last night (in which case the machine should have been in sleep mode), but even if I didn't -- I usually leave it on some radio station when I sleep -- it hasn't given me any warnings before, so why now?

The page says it isn't my Mac that is causing the problem. But the only other device I have is my android phone and the Wi-Fi is disabled, and it doesn't have any 3G type Internet. I keep those things off to save battery. It did have Bluetooth on (I must have forgotten to turn that off days back).

I've also got a standard Apple issue keyboard and trackpad, and this morning the trackpad bleated about wanting new batteries.

That's it! That's all the electronic things I have.  And a Wi-Fi repeater which plugs into the downstairs router via an Ethernet cable.

So what could this warning be?  Someone else is attempting to sign into my account from my home IP? That's really unlikely. It is a family home, I doubt one of my family is trying to hack me, I would however be impressed if this were the case.  I haven't handed down any old computer equipment either.

So I have no clue.

Can anyone think of any possible explanation?

This question was asked a while ago, I'm not sure if you've solved the problem. If you have, please enlighten me! I've been having the same issue (not quite every time, but almost every time I turn my Mac on). As with you, the location is my hometown.

I've done some Googling, somewhat ironically, and it seems to be a security issue with OSX Yosemite causing it, though I must confess I don't know the details.

This thread says:

  "I received the same emails the same day I upgraded to OS X Yosemite
  and setup my Gmail account in Apple Mail. Its not a bug, but only
  security changes that have happened on Google's end of things. All you
  have to do is follow the link and enable "Access for less secure
  apps". Thats what I did and I haven't received the emails since."

However, I'm not a fan of allowing less secure apps, in case there is a genuine security issue (which this doesn't appear to be).

Another discussion says:

  "I've found a way to solve it: just went to Settings, Internet
  Accounts and deleted my Gmail account. Put it back and it's working
  fine now."

It appears to be a fairly common problem (Google "Yosemite gmail sign in blocked"). I have tried the solution above and haven't received any more emails, but if it doesn't seem to work, I'll update this answer.

UPDATE: It happened again, which I'm fairly unchuffed with. After rooting around on Google, I found this:

  Google may block sign in attempts from some apps or devices that do
  not use modern security standards. Since these apps and devices are
  easier to break into, blocking them helps keep your account safer.
  Some examples of apps that do not support the latest security
  standards include:

  The Mail app on your iPhone or iPad with iOS 6 or below
  The Mail app on your Windows phone preceding the 8.1 release
  Some Desktop mail clients like Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird

  To help keep your account secure, we may block these less secure apps
  from accessing your account, and you’ll see a “Password incorrect”
  error when trying to sign in. If this is the case, you have two
  options:

  Upgrade to a more secure app that uses the most up to date security
  measures. All Google products, like Gmail, use the latest security
  measures. Go to Allow less secure apps and choose “Allow” to let less
  secure apps access your Google account. We don't recommend this option
  because it may make it easier for someone to gain access to your
  account.

So, bearing this in mind, it seems to be using a client of some kind causing the issue, which fits in with previous suspicions. So, for anyone facing this issue, be aware that your mail client may not be using the "modern security standards" that Google wants, and that this may the root of the issue. The fix is likely to be wait for an update to the client, or use a different one when accessing your Gmail account (or select "Allow less secure apps" in your Google settings).


How to create third partition on a Mac with Mavericks and Bootcamp? Right now I am running OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) on my MacBook Pro, with Windows 7 via Boot Camp, and I also have a third FAT32 partition where I share data between Mac/Windows.

I am going to upgrade to Mavericks. I Googled and it seems Mavericks is not going to be happy with letting me create the third FAT32 partition.

Did anyone create a third partition with Mavericks before? What are the steps?

(I have backed up all my data from both OS X and Windows, and I am going to format whole hard disk, and fresh install snow leopard, then update to Mavericks).

Wait, before you do that, you can do this in an easier fashion.

Just shrink the Mac partition via Disk Utility and format the new free space as FAT32.


How do I fix interlacing lines going up and down on iPhone SE display My wife's iPhone SE is a couple years old and many drops in (probably average of 1/week at least). It's been rock solid this whole time, but earlier today, it started having horizontal lines going up and down the display, and the lines seem to get more intense if the iPhone is doing some heavy processing or rendering something on the screen.

A picture is worth a thousand words:

And a video is worth a thousand more: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J9lbanGn2kJjAWpwKJxgnOkVWpWQJDV0/view?usp=sharing

I tried resetting the phone, updating to iOS 11, and shutting it off, waiting a while, then turning it back on, but nothing seems to get the lines to go away completely. My wife said it was intermittent at first, but it seems to be happening all the time now that I'm trying to debug it.

Any ideas? Do I need to replace the front panel assembly (e.g. using replacement from iFixIt)? Or could this be something deeper that would require more work/replacement than it's worth?

As it turns out, it was something in the display assembly. I purchased an iPhone SE LCD Screen and Digitizer Full Assembly from iFixIt, then followed the meticulously-detailed iPhone SE Display Assembly Replacement guide, and after another hard reset, the display was back to its former glory!

One caveat for those replacing the display assembly: When re-assembling, if it's hard to snap the top part of the display into the body of the iPhone, check if there are extra bits of glue or plastic on the new assembly. It seems the iFixIt replacement parts sometimes have an extra bit of goop that needs to be shaved off in order to fit well.

If the display doesn't snap in snugly like the old one, you could end up putting pressure on both the earpiece and vibration motor, which can make sound and vibration features a bit strange (tinny or even nonexistent!) until you fix the problem.


Run Emacs within Bash I am looking for a way in Bash to run something within Emacs. For example, if you run emacs, press esc+X then type "life," you get a little simulation of Conway's Game of Life. How could this be done via Bash?

Don't have much so far:

#!/bin/sh
emacs

I've read about using ^] and such but doing

#!/bin/sh
emacs
^]

does not work (neither does ^[)

Basically, how can I simulate all of these key presses in Bash, with the default Mac Emacs (22.1.1)?

Use emacs -f <function>

E.g.: emacs -f life in this case.

GNU Emacs Manual


whats the volume slider in the multitasking bar for? I have just upgraded to iOS 4.2.1 and I don't have an Apple TV so there's no Airplay button, however I still have a volume slider in the multitasking bar?

What volume does that change, and whats the point of it, I can just use the hardware buttons. (I'd much rather it was a brightness slider like there is on the iPad)

The volume changes the volume of the audio on your device, just like the hardware volume buttons do.


Mavericks Login Screen Mirrored on 2nd Monitor I recently had to erase and restore my mac as it developed a terrible hard drive failure, and ever since I've had odd behaviour (already posted one other question today). For some reason the Login screen is mirrored on both my monitors and annoyingly this changes the resolution and aspect ratio shown on the MacBook, I really don't like it, and it's never done this before. It also creates a strange animation as the screen logs in which I fins even more annoying. Before the second monitor would show the background of the login screen but certainly would not effect the resolution of the main screen or be mirrored. What's going on there?

Thanks,
Mike

Two screenshots, one of the displays and a profile error which I can't help but feel is also a side effect of the issue I had.

Pressing ⌘+F1 is the shortcut for switching between mirrored (same thing on both displays) and extended desktop (each display is independent) modes.

Pressing that while at the login screen should sort your problem.


Can iTunes on Yosemite use ExFAT? On Mavericks I think you can Short version of the question: can iTunes 12.1.0.50 on Yosemite using ExFAT drive as the Library or how to make it work?

I have some USB Flash drive and external SSD drive.  It seems that I can format them as ExFAT and then use it with iTunes 11.4 on Mavericks (using the drive as the iTunes Library), but when I use it with iTunes 12.1.0.50 on Yosemite, it gave me an error that iTunes cannot start.  So I have to reformat it in HFS+ (the Mac's file system), and then iTunes would run with it.

Maybe it is due to iTunes or due to Yosemite... but I prefer ExFAT slightly over HFS+ because ExFAT can be used on a PC if occasionally I need to connect the drive to a PC.  Is there a way to make it work with ExFAT?

I have my whole library on exFAT HDD. Just move iTunes folder from ~/Music to somewhere on exFAT hdd, create a symbolic link for iTunes folder and put it back in ~/Music.
But there is an issue. iTunes works a bit slowly than usual and shortly freezes while changing a tracks.


Steps after buying a used iPhone I'm buying a used iPhone.  What steps should I take immediately after I receive the iPhone, to make sure that everything is OK, that I got what I paid for, and that I'm not receiving a lemon?

For instance, it might be nice to check that it wasn't reported stolen / blacklisted.  Also, I am buying a factory unlocked phone, so it'd be useful if there is an easy way to check to make sure I am receiving an unlocked iPhone.  Also, if there is any hardware that is frequently broken / not working on used devices, it might be useful to have a checklist for checking that hardware.

Related, but not identical:

What to ask when buying a used iPhone 4, though that's different: it focuses on deciding whether to buy or not, and what to ask to help make that decision.
What are the steps to transfer an iPhone to someone else?, though that's different: it focuses on the seller's perspective and has a complicated scenario, whereas I'm interested in the buyer's perspective and have a simple scenario.
How to know where and when my iphone was bought?
Steps to be done before selling your iPhone
Find out if my iPhone is unlocked without purchasing another SIM

Once you get your hands on the iPhone, put your SIM card in it, do a full reset, and after it restarts go through the initial setup phase - until you get to the main screen with the apps on it.

Make sure you have a mobile phone signal (3G or 4G or whatever). That will tell you that the phone will work with your SIM.

It will also have activated the phone during that initial setup.

If the phone was previously assigned to another iCloud account, it may prompt you for the password for that account during that process. If the seller does not have the password, hand the phone back because it's a brick. And probably a stolen brick at that.

After that, you're pretty much OK.


How to take out HDD (hard drive) from a G5 G5 is totally defunct, I trying to take out the HDD for archive purpose.
But realize ... there is no way for me to take out the casing.
Any idea?

Here is the G5 manual (late 2005): https://web.archive.org/web/20130514170019/http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Power_Mac_G5_Late_2005.pdf

On page 45 it is explained how to open the casing and onward to how to change storage devices.

Hope that helps!


Find all hidden files that were hidden using the command "chflags hidden filename"? I remember to hide an important file, but I can't find it anymore and I don't remember the name. I don't remember how I hid it, i.e., if just by inserting a prefix of . or using chflags hidden filename.

I tried to recover all hidden files (hidden because of the prefix .) under my desktop using the following command

find . -name '.*' | grep "^.DS_Store" > hidden-files.txt

and the resulting hidden-files.txt text file is empty. (Anyway, I'm not 100% sure if the command above is correct.)

Again, now I would like to retrieve recursively (as I'm doing with the previous command) all hidden files that were hidden using the command chflags hidden filename using the terminal (or without, but I would need to have a list of them or a path to them). Is it possible? If yes, how can I do it?

Edit 1

I think the command above doesn't work because grep does not accept input. Anyway, to solve the problem I think I just need to add xargs as follows

find . -name '.*' | xargs grep "^.DS_Store" > hidden-files.txt

This should work for you

find . ! -name '.' \( -name '.*' -o -flags hidden \)

which means find in the current directory, all file system objects, except do not list the current working directory- (! -name '.'), whose name begins with a dot or file flag is set to hidden.


Is it possible to use the phone speakers for Siri even when Bluetooth is connected? I have my phone connected to a Bluetooth auxiliary adapter in my vehicle. Sometimes I have the audio source set to something else like CD or FM radio. The problem with this then is I hear no audio output when I need to use Siri. Is there a way to force Siri to use iPhone speaker by default even when connected to Bluetooth? I have an iPhone X.

No, you can't direct Siri to a different output than the default output.
If your iPhone is connected via bluetooth to your car stereo then that's where sounds will be directed.
Your options are to disconnect bluetooth from your car stereo or upgrade to a CarPlay-enabled head unit.


iCloud and Email and syncing I am a little bit confused as to how best to setup my devices to have the best battery life and best syncing options.

I have an iMac, iPad mini & iPhone 5.

Currently I use Google Apps (Gmail) to store my email, calendar and contacts. I want to use some of the other iCloud functions such as Notes and Reminders syncing.

I figure it was best to switch everything to iCloud except my email. But that still requires me to be syncing two accounts on my iPhone and iPad (one exchange account for email and one account for iCloud) which I assume would drain the battery alot.

Is there any way I can have this setup such that I am only syncing one account and everything is pushed to my devices and in sync?

Yes, you can forward any email from your exchange account to icloud!

So you don't have to sync your exchange–emails sepperatly!

Go to the email settings in your exchange account,there must be an option where you can forward any incoming email to another address.

When you want to transfer all your old emails as well:use mail on Mac, create your two accounts and move all exchange emails to an icloud folder!

You can also send from your exchange-account: create your account in the settings, but disable the option to synchronise the emails.

When you now want to send a new email, you have the option from which account you want to send it.


How do I import photos in OS X without using Photos.app? My girlfriend always used Picasa to import photos from the camera, but since upgrading to OS X 10.11 El Capitan that doesn't work anymore.

Using Photos.app, she is able to import the photos, but they're hidden away in a Photos Library file which Photoshop cannot open, meaning she cannot add photos as a new layer.

Any suggestions, please? In the open dialogue of Photoshop I've tried clicking 'Photos' hoping it'd show the entire photo library, but it doesn't bring up any photos.

You can use Image Capture in the /Applications folder. This allows you to select a normal folder and import photos to that location, which can be accessed in Finder or Photoshop as usual.

In addition, this application allows you to setup the preferred application to open when connecting your camera (or smartphone, ...). There you can select Image Capture itself as the default application.


Where does OneNote for Mac store its notebook files? "Create a new notebook" with OneNote for Mac is not possible in offline mode. :(
Editing and updating your notebook, however, works flawlessly in offline mode.

My question is: where does OneNote for Mac store its Notebook files (for offline work)?

Also, I would love to find a workaround to use OneNote in offline mode and to block sync in my firewall.

OneNote stores things in an application container in your user's Library folder. Open Finder and use the go to folder function and paste

~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.onenote.mac/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft User Data/OneNote/

The current version has an offline data file in a 15.0 subfolder. You can snoop on the program when it's running to see what files and ports are open.

sudo lsof | grep OneNote | grep -v Applications


How do I make the iPhone app emulator retina-size? I'm developing an iPhone app and the only device I have for testing is an iPad 2. I can run the app on the iPad and it will use the internal iPhone emulator (or whatever it's called). But the display ratio is that of the older iPhones, not retina-size (see this, I need the last version). How do I change the aspect ratio?

There is no option to change to retina or 4" screen size for iPhone apps running on the iPad.  You should use the simulator in Xcode instead (or get another device).


Unclear OSX notification banners: where is the cropped text? Long text notifications banners on MacOS X are cropped. The missing text makes them hard to understand, or even incomprehensible. How can I read the full text of these banners, if nothing shows up in Notification Center?

This is a general issue, and happens with all kinds of notifications on OSX.

The example below appears when trying to call a contact from Contacts.app in Yosemite and something is not right, which I can not fix, because the message explaining it is cropped.

Examples:

Take a look in the Notification Center by clicking this icon in the top right corner of your menu bar:

You'll probably see the full text in the "Facetime" section.


Control - C on a password prompt on the terminal Occasionally, I request something with sudo, but change my mind after the password prompt has arisen. If the program was executing, I could press Control+C to exit, but this has no effect on the password prompt. If it was gksudo, then I could likewise press Cancel.

So, is there anyway I could cancel sudo's password prompt besides pressing Enter multiple times, waiting for the wrong password dialogue?

I was unable to find acceptable explanation for that. It does not occur with every command. For instance, if you try sudo ls you can usually terminate it using ctrl+c.

You can still press enter immediately followed by ctrl+c, that usually works.


High Sierra How to See User Library I cannot save Contacts in High Sierra. I have tried following instructions for deleting the .plist in the User Library, but there is no "Show Library" option within the Finder's View>Show View Options.

Any advice? I'm unable to locate the .plist and unable to save contacts...

In Terminal, type open ~/Library. This will open the user's Library folder.

To use the Finder:

Open a Finder window and select "Home" from the Go menu
Then selected "Show View Options" from the View menu
Tick the "Show Library Folder" option


Visual confirmation of keyboard layout change in OS X Yosemite I might be mistaken, but I seem to remember there once was a visual confirmation when changing the keyboard layout in older versions of OS X. It was some kind of small grey window in the middle of the screen showing all currently available layouts (and highlighting the active one) for a few seconds after each change.

Is there a way to re-enable this in Yosemite? I am not talking about the flag symbol for the menu bar which can be switched on and off in system preferences. I prefer a very clean menu bar with as little as possible icons. I have set a keyboard shortcut for switching the layout (which is working), but I get no confirmation or information about the current layout.

It's still there, but it only shows when ⌥ is held for a slightly longer time. A quick ⌥ + ⇥ will not trigger this window.


On OS X El Capitan, what is the difference between /Library/ and /System/Library/? There are two 'Library' directories in my OS X 10.11 installation, one being /Library/, the other being /System/Library/.
What is the difference between different Library folders?

/System/Library is for stuff that doesn't change and is installed by Apple. Files here help the operating system run.
/Library is for things that may change and that pertain to all users on a computer.
And for completeness (although not mentioned in the question):
~/Library is where things that may change specific to a particular user go.


Remove all items in mdfind How would I remove all of the items returned by mdfind? For example, I want to remove all files relating to "MacLaunchpad", so I did

mdfind "MacLaunchpad"

Which returned

/private/var/db/receipts/o.t.maclaunchpad.postflight.pkg.plist
/private/var/db/receipts/o.t.maclaunchpad.maclaunchpad.pkg.plist
/private/var/db/receipts/o.t.maclaunchpad.postflight.pkg.bom
/private/var/db/receipts/o.t.maclaunchpad.launchpad.pkg.plist
/private/var/db/receipts/o.t.maclaunchpad.launchpad.pkg.bom
/private/var/db/receipts/o.t.maclaunchpad.maclaunchpad.pkg.bom

I wish to remove all of these files; how would I go about doing that?

There are at least two ways for this

rm $(mdfind "MacLaunchpad")
mdfind "MacLaunchpad" | xargs rm

If you expect the resulting file/path names to contain spaces and other surprises use

mdfind -0 "MacLaunchpad" | xargs -0 rm --


Is it possible to get the iPad to play videos in the common formats? I was looking for an easy to use device for my mum, who wants to occasionally grab movies to watch on the go. I didn't do my homework properly and just bought an iPad because it seems to be a synonym for "easy to use".

Until I found out that to watch movies using the built-in player, they have to be transcoded.

What would you recommend to make it easy for my mum to grab a movie from her computer and watch it on the iPad? Is there an app that would just play any format without transcoding? If not, what's the easiest way out? She's got a pretty slow PC; definitely not something I'd want to do video transcoding on.

P.S. I'm still wondering if I got this wrong, because it's a bit hard to believe. This is anything but easy-to-use at the moment :(  Am I totally misunderstanding something?

I use VLC Player for iPhone, but it was removed from the App Store due to an incompatibility between its open source license and the App Store terms.

I learned that AVPlayer does the same, but it is a payed app. Pretty inexpensive, tough.


Can I undo changes made via "defaults write"? I've been messing with Bluetooth audio settings to try to keep my Bluetooth speakers from popping by changing settings via defaults write, but I'm afraid I've made the problem worse.

I'd like to revert to the default… defaults, bringing them back to where they were originally or, more specifically, where they would be for a new user account or new system.  Is this as simple as using defaults delete on the appropriate domain and key?

Yes, usually you can just use defaults delete

If for example you have run

defaults write -g NSScrollAnimationEnabled -bool false

You can undo the changes by running one of

defaults delete -g NSScrollAnimationEnabled
defaults write -g NSScrollAnimationEnabled -bool true

(In all cases you need to restart the application to apply changes)

Even if the preference key had some value before you used defaults it shouldn't matter if you delete the key.

It is generally safe to delete preference keys or even complete files,
and they can usually be recreated by OS X or applications.

The property lists modified by defaults are stored in directories like

~/Library/Preferences/
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Preferences/
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/

You can edit a plist in a text editor after converting it to XML with

plutil -convert xml1 FILENAME


How can I charge powerbank that has single C-type in/out from MacBook? I’m using Xiaomi Power Bank 3 which has following sockets:

USB-A type low output
USB-A type high output
USB-C type power delivery input/output up to 45W

It usually works fine, I can use MacBook charger to charge the power bank and the power bank can charge MacBook fine.

The problem is, I cannot figure out how to charge power bank from MacBook. The use case will be Charger → Macbook → Power Bank, which I expected to charge both devices, but if I connect like that, the power bank seems not to be charging.

If the macbook usb-C port is not rated to provide what the powerbank demands then it will not negociate and deliver power.

As you say the macbook charger will charge the powerbank correctly and the powerbank will charge the macbook, then the issue is the rated output of the macbook USB-C port.


Is there a way to queue up the next song on my iPhone? Is there a way to pick which song should play after the current song finishes?

I often browse my music library while listening, and I'll want to play a specific song, but not stop the current song in the middle. Is there a way to queue up a song to start after the current one?

As they say in the iPhone world, "There's an app for that" (Review) :-) It's called OnCue.


airplay and wireless headphones I'm trying to find some headsets that will work with airplay from either my mac or an iPhone.

Should i presume all wireless or bluetooth headsets do?

best, Dan.

Not at all - you should presume the opposite - that all wireless and bluetooth headsets will not work with AirPlay on a Mac or iOS device.

AirPlay requires an Apple certified device (you can't just have any old software become an AirPlay destination) and AirPlay goes over a TCP/IP network and generally uses broadcast packets so it won't find speakers on a different subnetwork without advanced network tunneling and setup (generally sender and receiver are on the same router).

Even though WiFi does share some of the radio frequencies that are the same as Bluetooth - the two do not communicate with each other. At the moment, bluetooth audio connection is much better for stereo headsets as it allows the device to play / pause / control volume as well as sending the music using less battery power than WiFi chipset (to get AirPlay wirelessly) can.

I would expect things like larger speaker systems, receivers and electronics that plug in to the wall (or at least non-wearable battery power) to get AirPlay and light headsets to remain Bluetooth only due to power, size and features.


Are there any Terminal commands that would be interesting for a young child? I am beginning to teach my 4-year-old daughter that she can do more on a computer than watch cartoons on Netflix. I want her to know that she can type things on the keyboard and make the computer do stuff.

For example, I opened Terminal, turned the font size way up, and showed her that if she typed say emily, the computer would speak her name. She was elated with that and immediately wanted to make the computer say all her friends' names, too.

She does not yet have the motor skills to reliably operate a touchpad or mouse, but she knows her letters and can type just fine.

Are there any other Terminal commands, besides say, that a young child might find interesting?

If you have an older computer with "X" pre-installed, xeyes is mildly entertaining.

But, you could also create an alias or a shell script that does just about anything, using applescript, etc.


Is there a cable for MacBook Pro that functions like a docking station over USB-C connector? I use four cable connections to my MacbookPro: Power, thunderbolt to external monitor, thunderbolt to ethernet cable, and USB.  In a typical day, I need to disconnect and reconnect these many times as I take my laptop to meetings.

Is there any kind of "cable concentrator" that would let me plug everything into some kind of gizmo and then connect that via a single thunderbolt or USB cable to the Macbook?

Note - I have a USB-C Mac and not a MagSafe Mac.

I think the word you are looking for is docking station.

Otherwise, if you have a spare laptop and the meetings are within the same building or VPN-enabled (i.e. on the same network as your MBP), you could just use the native OS X VNC server/client by enabling remote administration (or whatnot) in System Preferences.  Then just leave your MBP hooked up, and on the remote machine, open a Finder window, hit Cmd+k, and type vnc://ip.or.hostname.of.your.mbp, and hit enter.

Alternately, if your company doesn't frown on it, you could use TeamViewer for remote access over the Internet.  It has built-in proxy support if you require that, as well.

If your spare is a Windows laptop, you can install xRDP for OS X, and use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol to remote into your MBP.  I prefer RDP over VNC any day and use it almost exclusively on all of my *NIX machines.


What you are experiencing is called a “kernel panic”.

The line Root disk errors: "Could not recover SATA HDD after 5 attempts. Terminating."is a clear indication of your MacBook having an issue with the built-in SSD. Are you sure you had a look at the results of Disk First Aid, preferably run from the Recovery HD? As an alternative, you might want to boot into single-user mode (pressing cmd-S upon start) and use fsck to test the drive:

fsck -f

Use the reboot command once fsck has finished.

Has the MBP ever been opened or dropped? In that case, the SSD may just sit improperly in its slot which would explain the intermittent nature of the symptom. Unlikely but not impossible.


How do I use the `security` command-line tool to add a keychain? I'm doing some remote Mac administration and finding myself needing to copy a keychain to the machine and then add it to the default list of keychains.

Using VNC and the GUI, this is simple: just double-click it and Keychain Access opens, revealing that it's been added. But how do you do this via terminal over SSH, so that it can be scripted? The security tool doesn't seem to have an "add-keychain" command or an argument to any other command that would do this, as far as I can tell.

How do you do this?

For some reason, the feature is hidden in the form of the -s argument to list-keychains. The other gotcha is that you need to simultaneously re-add all existing keychains. This should take care of it:

security list-keychains -s `security list-keychains | xargs` [path to keychain you want to add]


What application uses a red cone icon with a notch in it? I saw the following icons in a screen shot of a mac. I know the F-icon is Autodesk Fusion, but what is the icon next to it, the red cone with a notch?

That appears to be the icon for Autodesk AutoCAD (see the red icon in the screenshot).

Here is another view.


Exchange Apple Watch after 14 day policy I bought my watch 19 days ago so it's 5 days over the policy. But it froze after the return policy date and I was wondering if they will let me exchange it for a new one. Anyone have answers or experience exchanging a new Apple product after the 14 day period. My watch had a problem after and it's not a lot after the 14 day window so I was wondering if they will still exchange it for me.

If by it froze you mean it's not working anymore, then it's a case for warranty.  That is one year long.  Here is a legal description for the US, but it is similar in other countries.


Dock is stopping me from unmounting a hard drive I just upgraded to Catalina and am using an external drive as a system drive and need to unmount my internal drive, but I can't. I try sudo diskutil umount /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/ and it asks for my password, tries, then tells me:
Volume Macintosh HD on disk0s2 failed to unmount: dissented by PID 2793
(/System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/XPCServices/com.apple.dock.
extra.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.dock.extra)
Dissenter parent PPID 1 (/sbin/launchd)

When I use ps aux to find out about PID 2793, here's the appropriate information:
hal               2793   0.0  0.1  5253644  34068   ??  Ss    1:06AM   0:00.14
/System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/XPCServices/com.apple.dock.extra.xpc
/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.dock.extra

The only app (and I checked with lsof) that is using anything on that drive is the dock - and it's using the iTunes icon. I found that out with lsof, here's the related output line:
com.apple 2793  hal  txt       REG                1,2      23760             2640732
/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/PlugIns/iTunesDockTile.docktileplugin
/Contents/MacOS/iTunesDockTile

That confirms that the only app using anything on that internal drive is the Dock and that the only file being used is the iTunesDockTile. When I first saw this, I removed Apple Music from the Dock, but it still wants that tile and, rather than getting it from the external drive, that is the system drive, it's using the one on the old internal drive.
I tried killall dock; sudo diskutil umount /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD and get the same message as above. (I hoped that it would unmount the drive while Dock was restarting and before it got a file lock.) I've considered just deleting that file, but I don't know what consequences that would create.
I need to unmount that drive so I can reformat it.
Extra (probably unnecessary) details:
This is part of an upgrade from Mojave to Catalina. I tried to start the update and it wouldn't, since my system drive was not in APFS. I had an extra drive, so I hooked it up via USB and formatted it in APFS, then used SuperDuper to copy my internal drive to the external. I upgraded the external to Catalina. My next step was going to be to reformat the internal in AFPS, then use SuperDuper again and copy everything on the external drive (Which is now a new Catalina update) to the internal drive. It appears EVERYTHING else is using the external for all system resources and the ONLY tile the Dock is not getting from the internal drive is this one iTunes tile.
So what is the best and safest way to deal with this to unmount the internal drive? I've considered using a forced unmount, but that doesn't always work and can cause problems. I don't want to just delete the tile file until I know what it'll do or if there are unexpected consequences.

[This answer cropped up earlier in the week for a totally different question, but it seems appropriate again here…]
I would be more inclined to prevent the volume from mounting in the first place, then it won't need to be ejected.
You can prevent it from mounting using fstab.
I wrote an earlier answer on using this, so I'll link to that rather than covering the same ground again. The question itself is entirely unrelated, but the answer contains step by step for fstab
Time Machine restore to new partition, different computer


How to deploy Automator workflow to clients? For a specific use case, I've developed a Folder Action workflow with Automator. When a file gets created in a folder 'abc', the workflow kicks of and executes a shell script.

This workflow needs to be installed / deployed to many client machines in corporate environments. While end users could be provided the setup instructions, this approach is prone to errors so I'm looking for a better approach.

I'm aware that the actual workflow definition gets stored in:

/Users/[user]/Library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions/*

While the *.workflow/Contents/document.wflow does includes the folderActionFolderPath, copying the workflow from one client to another does not work as the Folder Action does not get enabled. It still needs to be enabled in Finder (Home folder --> right click on the folder --> Selecting 'Folder Action Setup...' from the drop down menu). I haven't found a way to automate this configuration step from the command line.

How can a system administrator install a Folder Action workflow on several client machines?

If you really want to “idiot proof” the process, here is  option. In Script Editor.app, create a new blank document then immediately go and save it as an application (I saved mine as “JIMZ Attach Folder Action.app”)

The purpose of this application would be to copy the Automator workflow file (which will be included within the “Resources” folder of this new application you just created in Script Editor ) that you want attached to the “ABC” folder on any user’s computer, to the necessary “Folder Actions” folder on that computer.  If the “ABC” folder does not exist on the target computer, it will be created.  For purposes of this project, the “ABC” folder location would be on the target computer’s desktop.

Paste this following code into your new blank AppleScript app that you just created.

property nameOfTriggerFolder : "ABC"
property pathToFolderActions : ((path to workflows folder as text) & "Applications:Folder Actions:")
property attachFolderActionTo : (path to desktop as text) & nameOfTriggerFolder

set resourceName to "ABC Folder Action.scpt"
set folderActionScript to ((path to me as string) & "Contents:Resources:" & resourceName) as string

tell application "Finder"
    if not (exists of folder attachFolderActionTo) then
        make new folder at (path to desktop) with properties {name:nameOfTriggerFolder}
    end if
    duplicate file folderActionScript to folder pathToFolderActions with replacing
end tell

tell application "Folder Actions Setup"
    activate
    try
        set addedFolderAction to make new folder action with properties {name:nameOfTriggerFolder, path:attachFolderActionTo}
    end try
    try
        delay 0.5
        tell addedFolderAction to make new script with properties {name:resourceName, path:(pathToFolderActions & resourceName)}
    end try
    if not folder actions enabled then
        set folder actions enabled to true
    end if
end tell

Then go ahead and drag your Automator workflow file from Finder app directly to the resources folder in Script Editor (as shown in the animation below)

Compile and save the app in Script Editor.  Now you can distribute this app to whoever you want.  When this app is now launched on any target computer, it will copy the Automator workflow file directly to the folder where it needs to be located.  It will also add the “ABC” folder to the list of enabled folders in the Folder Actions Setup.app and attach the script or workflow file to that folder


Check conncetion to AFP server through bash Is there any way to programmatically check if a connection is established to an afp server? I have tried pinging the server but that always results in a timeout.

So far the only workaround that I've gotten to work is:

#!/bin/bash
open "afp://website.com/afpDir/"
until [[ -d /Volumes/afpDir/ ]]; do
    echo 'waiting for connections'
    sleep 1
done

However, this only works if I specifically check for the afpDir directory while it is open in Finder. Is there a reliable way to to check if there is a connection to that afp server or perhaps even finding a reliable ip for the server?

To check if a connection to an AFP server - with the fixed listening port 548 - is established use:

netstat -naf inet | grep [.]548[\ ].*ESTAB*

or with quotes:

netstat -naf inet | grep '[.]548[\ ].*ESTAB*'

with -naf inet: no name resolution, all sockets and restrict to IPv4

and [.]548[\ ].*ESTAB* (grep for an) <IP-address>.548  ESTABLISHED. The [.] is required to exclude ports like 2548 or 10548. [\ ] excludes ports like 5480 or 5481. The .* concatenates everything (tab/spaces) between 548 and ESTAB*.

An example result looks like this:

tcp4       0      0  192.168.1.24.54340       192.168.1.2.548         ESTABLISHED

192.168.1.24 is the client's IP address and 192.168.1.2 the server's IP address then.


Is it safe to delete .pkg/.dmg files after installation? Can I delete a pkg dmg zip file after I install its content? I mean if this is a little app can I delete the installation file without breaking the installed application?

To answer your question(s), generally speaking, yes, you can delete the container file whether it be a .pkg, .dmg or .zip file. This of course assumes that all content of the container file has been installed. In other words, some .dmg files might contain extras in a separate folder within that are not installed when you drag and drop the app into Applications.

So use common sense when making the decision to delete the container. Obviously if the container contains a single file and you install it, then there is no need to retain it if you don't mind downloading again if for some reason it's needed again.


How does a reminder that has both a location and time reminder work? I can add a reminder with both "Remind me on a day" and "Remind me at a location" turned on.

When I turn both on, how does the remind work? Is it:

only at the specified time if I arrive/leave the location
at the specific time or if I arrive/leave the location
something else?

The reminder alerts do not work in tandem. This means it will alert you:

At the exact date and time you have specified
AND when you enter/exit the specified geofence


Is there Maps application on non-3G iPad 2? As I know iPad 3G can define user's location using A-GPS module, and there is a Maps application which is closely related to this functionality.

But can non-3G iPads define user's location basing on WiFi routers position, for example? Is there any Maps application?

Yes, as is now disclosed in the location database kerfuffle, iOS will cache wifi and cell tower location near it's location so that when internet access is temporarily unavailable, the device can still trilaterate based on what the WiFi receiver is seeing for SSID.

So, I have had my non 3G iPad correctly locate itself driving down the highway 50 miles from where it last had a WiFi connection. If I have purchased any map product that stores it's own map tiles, it would work. Even the built in map program caches tiles, so I would generate driving directions and step through all the turns to download the map tiles along the way on the device. As long as the device doesn't quit that app / purge those downloaded tiles, the built in map works well for me without 3G data.

Of course, you don't have actual control over downloading a region of tiles or controlling which wifi hotspots are downloaded into the system cache. Also - this means if you are outside the range of any WiFi signal (or the ones that are nearby are not mapped in the database) - your device is clueless at to it's location.

Basically, the hardware limits the ability to use GPS and cellular data and maps are not further handicapped just because a non-3G iPad has less connectivity. Pick the app you like and see how it works in your enviroment. You can always add external GPS input if you can't sell and re-buy a new iPad for less than the cost of an external receiver.


What alternatives for reporting OSX Server Web Stats do the same job as AWStats? I need a replacement tool or script to generate stats from the logfiles OSX Server generates while it runs.  I have spent way too much time on AWStats and it's had nothing but permissions issues from day 1.

Any chance anybody knows any reliable web stats packages for Mointain Lion?

Sawmill -- http://www.sawmill.net
Advanced Web Stats -- http://www.advancedwebstats.com/

These are the only ones that I could find and recommend, since Urchin and Summary were discontinued.
Links/Resources

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?250463-Best-Mac-Server-Web-Stats-Software
http://sixrevisions.com/usabilityaccessibility/10-promising-free-web-analytics-tools/

This link details 10 great Web Stats Tools (For instance, Snoop is a Mac OS Desktop Application).


Get dictionary definition of words in spotlight in Catalina? I just updated to macOS Catalina.

Looks like I can't type a word I don't know the meaning of into spotlight and get its dictionary definition anymore, even though in System Preferences > Spotlight "Definition" is checked.

How re-enable the functionality so that spotlight can be used like a dictionary?

It seems like the default dictionary changed during the upgrade to Catalina. I had to go into the Dictionary app settings and select New Oxford American Dictionary (for American English).


No "Generate an app-specific password" section in my Apple ID I can't reproduce what is described in this Cnet article.

Here is my screenshot.

You need activate "Two-Step Verification" in order to "generate an app specific password" as shown in http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-create-app-specific-passwords-for-icloud/

  For those unfamiliar, app-specific passwords are used when an app or service you're attempting to sign into doesn't support two-step verification. Instead of forcing you to enter your account password, you create a single-use app-specific password, eliminating any potential for your account to be compromised.

And as shown in your screenshot "Two-Step Verification" is not enabled...


I have two Macs on the same Apple ID. Sharing issue When I access the internet on Mac 1, the other Mac (Mac 2) has a extra icon pop up and can see what I access. Both Macs use the same Apple ID and are on the same domain. Two different users are signed on.

For instance, I will go to espn on Mac 1. The person on Mac 2 will have an extra Safari icon pop up. That person could click the icon and see what I am seeing.

How do I stop this?

This is called hand off

It allows you to continue where you left off in an app on one Device when you are accessing another device.

It works via the AppleID not the local user.

  When your Mac computers and iOS devices are within Bluetooth range of
  each other (about 33 feet or 10 meters), they can automatically “hand
  off” what you’re doing from one device to another. For example, you
  can start writing an email in Mail on your iPhone, then instantly pick
  up where you left off in Mail on your Mac.

  Handoff app icon in Dock Handoff works with several apps that come
  with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8: Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Maps,
  Messages, Notes, Phone (iOS only), Reminders, and Safari. It also
  works with Keynote v6.5, Numbers v3.5, and Pages v5.5 for Mac, and
  Keynote, Numbers, and Pages v2.5 for iOS. Third-party apps may also
  work with Handoff.

You can turn it off under the General Preference Pane in System Preferences


Bootcamp Mistakes - free space reclaim I done a mistake playing with bootcamp.
I create a small Windows partition 72GB, with bootcamp. But I realized that was too small, so I decided to deleted it with Disk Utility (I know.. WRONG choice).
So I create a new windows partition (with bootcamp too) larger approx.200GB, to try to delete the first one. After that I used bootcamp to delete windows partition. But that deleted just the last one (the big one).
So I tried this How to remove a container disk and reclaim space with main partition?
To delete the two partitions.
I done some stupid thinks because now I have 472GB unusable.
Is Anyone now how to transform this "freespace" to merge it to my Machkintosh HD main partition.
For formation I have and iMac 2014 with fusion drive.
Thanks a lot

NB : I done it in recovery mode without success.
Update 1
Hello and thanks David for thoses precises explainations.
I do what you ask :

I create the new MyBackup partition
After I a create a bootable usb flash drive and start a terminal on it
I have an error during the repair volume command as you predict

So i do : diskutil apfs deletecontainer disk1s2 Dummy
But I'm not sure to have what you explain. I haven't disk0s2
So I prefered to post you the diskutil list to be sure what I have to do next.

Thanks again !

The command below will verify the container before resizing. In your case, the verification failed, so the resize operation did not take place.
diskutil apfs resizecontainer disk1s2 0

You could try repairing the container. Before attempting, I would recommend backing up your personal files. Backing up to a external drive would be best. However, since you have free space, you could enter the command below to create a another APFS container with the APFS volume MyBackup. This answer assumes will have done this.
diskutil addpartition disk1s2 apfs MyBackup 0

At this point, you should boot to macOS Big Sur Internet Recovery. Or, you could boot from a macOS Big Sur installer flash drive.

Note: You should check to see if any of the identifiers have changed. If so, then make the appropriate substitutions in the remaining commands.

The command below attempts repair.
diskutil repairVolume disk1s2

If repair fails, then you should reinstall macOS BigSur. Below are the commands needed to create a new APFS container with the single APFS volume Macintosh HD. The command given below attempts to delete the APFS Fusion container.
diskutil apfs deletecontainer disk1s2 Dummy

If the above command fails to create an Apple_HFS type partition on both disk0s2 and disk1s2, then enter the command given below.
diskutil apfs deletecontainer -force disk1s2 Dummy

The above command will generate the following warning.

Deleting APFS Container with all of its APFS Volumes
Operating in the contingency (damaged APFS Container) mode. Only the specified APFS Physical Store disk is guaranteed to be reclaimed. Other APFS Physical Stores which may have defined this APFS Container might need to be reclaimed separately
Deleting Container

When I tested this command, an Apple_KFS type partition was created on both disk0s2 and disk1s2. If this does not happen, then stop and post the output from diskutil list to your question. Post a command to this answer, so I can be informed.
The next command creates a new APFS Fusion container.
diskutil apfs createcontainer -main disk0s2 -secondary disk1s2

The next command outputs the identifier for the new APFS Fusion container. Here I will assume the identifier disk2 was output.
diskutil info disk0s2 | grep Container

The next command adds an APFS volume labeled Macintosh HD to the new APFS Fusion container. If your identifier for the new APFS Fusion container is not disk2, then make the appropriate substitution.
diskutil apfs addvolume disk2 apfs "Macintosh HD"

At this point, you can install macOS Big Sur and copy your backed up files back to the Macintosh HD volume.
If you created the MyBackup volume, then enter the following commands to remove the APFS container with this volume and reclaim the space.
diskutil apfs deletecontainer disk1s3
diskutil apfs resizecontainer disk1s2 0

Update 1
Below is a copy of the image you posted of your progress.

You entered the command given below.
diskutil apfs deletecontainer disk1s2

You were suppose to enter the command given below.
diskutil apfs deletecontainer disk1s2 Dummy

You can fix this error by entering the commands given below.
diskutil addpartition disk0s1 jhfs+ "Dummy 2" 0
diskutil addpartition disk1s1 jhfs+ "Dummy" 0

To insure the identifiers are assigned correctly, you probably should restart the Mac after entering the above commands. In your case, you will want to boot from the flash drive. Since you have successfully removed the defective APFS Fusion container, you can continue with the original instructions at the point where you will be entering the command which creates a new APFS Fusion container.


Trouble with iCloud signing request How can I keep my iPad from asking me to log in to iCloud?
I don't want anything to do with iCloud and I don't want to be constantly hounded by Apple to log in.

Try under Settings > iCloud > Sign Out at the bottom of the page. You shouldn't be prompted for a password again until you sign in under the same menu.

Edit 1

Not sure whether that's exactly what you meant, but I cannot seem to recall Apple asking for a log in when no data is entered under the iCloud tab.


Can't use zsh shell in Catalina When I opened Terminal after installing Catalina, this appeared:

The default interactive shell is now zsh.
To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.
For more details, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208050.

So I copy-pasted the code, it made me enter my password, but nothing happened.

bash-3.2$ chsh -s /bin/zsh
Changing shell for HomoErektus.
Password for HomoErektus:
chsh: no changes made
bash-3.2$ echo $0
bash

I can't seem to find any answers. Nobody seems to have experienced this same issue. My User Login already has zsh as the default shell.

edit: terminal was fine the next day. Looks like terminal was just acting up. Guess the old "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" does work.

Terminal has a setting to use the default shell or run any program.
I would make the election you wish:

If that's not it, you'll have to hunt down each of your initialization files. Before doing that, make a brand new user account to be sure you have a working zsh for that user and terminal overall.
It's probably the obvious item above, though.


Thunderbolt Bridge Mode: compatible to rtp midi/ multicast udp When a thunderbolt bridge is established as a network with fixed ip‘s between two Macs, does it supports with its emulation a standard ethernet connection in terms of rtp midi and multicast udp data transmission?

The Thunderbolt Bridge is not a standard Ethernet connection, but macOS provides you with an IP interface where you can send IP packets between two computers.
RTP-MIDI is a protocol that encapsulates MIDI messages within RTP packets that are exchanged over the UDP protocol. The UDP protocol runs on top of the IP protocol, and as such RTP-MIDI is fully compatible with Thunderbolt Bridge connections.
Similarly multicast UDP runs on top of the IP protocol and as such is fully compatible with Thunderbolt Bridge connections. Obviously its usefulness is not quite the same here, as you normally use multicasting to send the same data to many hosts on the network at the same time. As a Thunderbolt Bridge connection is always between two computers, and two computers only, the multicast element is not really the same.


What file sharing protocol should I use with an older Mac? I understand that Apple has switched to SMB2 as their default file sharing protocol these days, but I have an old Mac at home that I want to share files with, and it can only run OS X 10.6.

OS X 10.6 gives me the option of using AFP, FTP, or SMB (version 1, I believe).  Is there a reason to choose one of these over the others?

AFP is Apple File Protocol and has been the default for a long time, and will be the most compatible with your 10.6 computer, and probably the easiest to set up. If you are sharing files on your own home network, choose that. It is still compatible with 10.9, it's just not the default network protocol in 10.9. SMB, the common Windows protocol, is available, but does not support some of the "nice" features of Mac OSX; sometimes it won't display custom icons, and might not fully support some file resource forks. FTP is more common for internet based networking, and I see no reason to use that in a home-only setting.


See all active clients with Airport Extreme/Express How can I see all (active) clients on my Airport Extreme. I can’t find such option in the current Airport Utility.

If your need is a list of the wireless clients you can see them in the current (6.3.x) Airport Utility; hold down ALT and double-click the Extreme.


When and how I will be paid in iTunes Connect Developer account? For some months, I have on my account almost 16$, but I am not paid yet.

What should I do to receive those money from Apple?
What is the payment schedule?
How do I get paid by Apple for App sales?

This is the direct response from Apple to me:

Payments are made within 45 days of the last day of the fiscal month. To receive payment, you must have completed all documentation, including any required banking and tax information, as well as meeting the minimum payment threshold.
If your bank and bank account currency is listed in the table provided in the iTunes Connect Payments and Financial Reports FAQ's labeled WHEN WILL I BE PAID, you must exceed a minimum payment threshold of $10 USD.
All other bank countries and bank account currencies must exceed a minimum payment threshold of $150 USD. Earnings that do not meet the minimum payment threshold will be carried over month-to-month until the minimum is met.


Is there a way of getting a list of photos not in an album? Like most people I take loads of pictures. Some I delete and some I put into albums for events, food pics, etc. Since you can put a picture into multiple albums I tend to use albums a bit like tags by having one picture in multiple relevant albums like a picture of me eating a huge cake in a "food" and a "Me" album which makes it quickly and easily to find a picture I am after by what I remember it had in it.

I can’t usually do this as soon I take the pics, so I will only sort though my recent pictures when I have a minute. However it’s next to impossible to remember which ones have already been sorted and which ones haven't.

Is it possible to create some kind of Smart Album or list showing all media that hasn’t been assigned to an album? I would prefer if it was on the iPhone directly, but something for the Mac or a web based solution would do as well.

As of iOS 10.2.1, you can only do this in Photos for macOS.

Open File → New Smart Album.
Name your Smart Album whatever you like, eg. Uncategorized.
Simply specify the condition: Album is not Any.

Starting with Photos 2.0, Smart Albums do not refresh instantly with every change. This means that you can drag an uncategorized photo from the Smart Album into multiple folders.


How can I boost the performance of my MacBook? I know that upgrading my MacBook with extra RAM can help boost the general system performance.

Recently, I upgraded from OS X 10.5  to OS X 10.6.8. I thought that my RAM upgrade would speed up my MacBook, but it didn't.

What measures can I take to boost the performance of my MacBook?

Upgrade your HDD with a SSD
The hard drive is a common bottleneck in computing these days. This is due to the fact, that processors have become faster at computing. The hard drive cannot keep up with the CPU. Because it's slow, the CPU is not stressed as much as it could be: bottleneck effect.
See these videos for a comparsion of a SDD to a HDD in a Macbook Pro.
Upgrade RAM
If your amount of RAM is insufficient, you will see lots of page-outs. Data which should be written to the RAM will be written to the hard drive instead. Because the hard drive's input/output operations are much slower than the RAM's, this slows down your computer.
However, if your amount of RAM is sufficient already, you will not notice a benefit from a RAM upgrade.
You can check how much page-outs there are using the Activity Monitor.app which is located in /Applications/Utilities/. There are no official recommendations I know of as to what the ratio of page-ins to page-outs should be. Generally, you need to know that the more page-outs you have, the better your system could perform if you were to upgrade your RAM. I myself aim for a ratio of no more than 5 to 1 (20%, page-in vs page-out)
Activity Monitor → System Memory:

Clean install
If you installed the upgrade 'over the top' this will be like a 'software factory reset'. Mostly you'll notice a better performance because no other software has been installed yet.
Still, a clean install helps in removing remains of uninstalled software but should be an ultimate measure for tackling problems that do not want to be solved otherwise.


Reformat URLs using Applescript or Automator Currently I have a process that downloads image URL from a website.  Then I filter out URLs I don't need and am left with a list of good image URLs.  I want to reformat these URLs by adding [IMG] before and [/IMG] tags after so these images are ready to post on sites that require these tags.  So far, I'm not finding a good way to accomplish this.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Assuming I'm understanding your question correctly, a simple program in any scripting language will do this in just a few lines of code.  Perl, Python, and Ruby are preinstalled on OS X; I'll give an example in Perl.  Just run this at the command prompt in a Terminal window.

Given that the filenames you want to process are listed, one filename per line, in a textfile called infile.txt:

perl -pe 's/(.*)/$1<\/img>/;' < infile.txt > outfile.html

Explanation: Calling the perl executable with the -e flag means "run the code in quotes following"; the -p flag means "for every line on standard input, run the program (meaning the code in quotes in this case) on that line and then print the line"; and the actual program in single quotes merely adds the  tags at the beginning and end of whatever text is in that line of the file.  The < and > operators indicate input and output to the given filenames.


Managed phone information When I upgraded my iPhone 6 to 9.3.1, it started to show message "this phone is managed by your organization."  In Settings it states phone managed by Comcast.  This is NOT a company phone.  My personal phone.  I believe it is what keeps me from using international SIM card.  Can't mast says this IMEI is not in their system.  Help!
Sorry if this question doesn't meet rules.  I am still learning.

You probably have a Comcast profile in your iPhone if you use Comcast/Xfinity to access the internet.  You can remove the profile by following these steps:

Go to Settings --> General --> Profiles.
If you see a Configuration Profile named Comcast or Xfinity or something similar, tap it.
At the bottom you'll see a button named Delete Profile.  Tap, and confirm, to delete.
Restart the iPhone

Next time you try to access Comcast again, you'll be prompted to reinstall the profile.  There's nothing wrong with installing and deleting the profile, although it is annoying.  If you use the iPhone thru your company, like with Good Email, your company might've installed this profile.


Wallpaper flickering I've noticed after updating to the latest OS X update 10.10.3 my desktop wallpaper flickers frequently.

The flickering will momentarily go if I have a window cover the location of flickering but it will appear again about 10 minutes later.

Could someone tell me how to resolve this? or at least troubleshoot the issue.

I have a Mac Mini (Late 2012).

UPDATE:
Screenshot of my console as requested:

2ND UPDATE:
Added screenshots of my screen settings and new console log.

Thanks for the Console log:

I see two item making problems with the User Interface (UI) in (WindowServer)

One is the VLC.app and the second one is the "Transmit application"

I know what is VLC app, so just disable (remove) it to test. (then download updated version)

Second one "Transmit" you know what it supposed to do but it is making problems. See if there is an update  or disable it.


Renaming iCloud mail address Guys I'm kind of hopeless after weeks of searching. My problem is the following:

When I created my Apple ID years ago I was young and didn't really understand the way Apple ID worked. I used shared it with my brother and it was perfectly fine except that he managed to mess up my iCloud mail to look like "mybrothersname@icloud.com" instead of "myname@icloud.com". Years passed and now I would really like to use the email service offered by iCloud, but seems like there is no way to change the mail address' name.

Before telling me, I know I could use an alias, but it just annoys me. I would like to have my own name on the @icloud.com mail address generated with my ID. I would simply make a fresh Apple ID, but I just managed to buy tons of apps that I'd miss. I'm open for any kind of solution. Would also transfer my purchases to the new Apple ID, but I found out that's also not possible. Merging two Apple ID's would be also nice though not possible. I'd even hack my own account if I knew and it was possible (if someone knew how, I'd give the right to).

Family Sharing - 2 or more users, shared apps, music, books etc - but not shared email accounts.