What models of iPhone 4S are for sale in the US I'm looking for a "just the facts" answer that lists the various models that are for sale and whether these devices are locked to a carrier or unlocked.

I understand that CDMA doesn't become active unless you elect to activate it at the time of purchase, so the locking status can apply only to the microSIM GSM usage when roaming to avoid billing through your primary carrier.

I'm not looking for shopping advice - just a clean summary of the list price and limitations of what is for sale for Fall 2011 in the US (we can edit this later if things change, but I expect stability as in the recent past on pricing and models). Also, please ignore any temporary shortages or any temporary discounts/bundles. Just the full list price of the devices sorted by carrier and just iPhone 4S.

Apple have done a marvelous job with a concise summary of rate plans for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. I'm looking for that to cover all the hardware locking to carriers that is done in Apple's servers when you buy an iPhone 4S which then restricts what you can and can't do with that device after purchase.

All models come in white or black at the same price, so we'll list them by capacity and locking status by increasing price.

Unlocked GSM Phones

All these ship without a micro SIM (Coming in November)

16 GB - $649 - GSM unlocked - no contract or subsidy
32 GB - $749 - GSM unlocked - no contract or subsidy
64 GB - $849 - GSM unlocked - no contract or subsidy

AT&T

AT&T iPhone 4S will be configured to use GSM domestically and GSM roaming.

Comes with AT&T micro SIM (all ship 1-2 weeks currently)

16 GB - $199 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy
32 GB - $299 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy
64 GB - $399 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy

Sprint

Sprint iPhone 4S will be configured to use CDMA domestically and GSM roaming.

Sprint iPhones may or may not be unlocked internationally out of the box Even in this article, there is currently some confusion and flip/flopping on this point.

16 GB Sprint CDMA - $199 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy
32 GB Sprint CDMA - $299 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy
64 GB Sprint CDMA - $399 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy

Verizon

Verizon Wireless iPhone 4S will be configured to use CDMA domestically and GSM roaming.

After 60 days in good standing, Verizon will unlock the SIM for international use upon customer request, but it remains locked within the US.

16 GB VZ CDMA - $199 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy
32 GB VZ CDMA - $299 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy
64 GB VZ CDMA - $399 - GSM locked - with 24 month contract & subsidy

This answer is community wiki - please improve it in any way you please


Can my son block me from finding him with my find my iphone app? Can my son block me from locating him with my find my iPhone app? Is there a way for me to know if he has turned it off at all? When I was trying to locate him, he's 15, all I was seeing was a location from 3 hours prior but it showed the real time location of our other phones. Later his phone with location showed up again.

Yes - your son can block sharing of location in several ways.

The best you can do is enforce restrictions on the device to prevent changes to Find My Friend / Location settings, but if your son is savvy enough to know to hide location, they will be savvy enough to:

google a faraday cage and put the phone in aluminum foil
enable airplane mode
powered off the phone
sign in to an iPad somewhere else and shift that to report their location when they choose

Here's what the restrictions look like and I've heard of good luck just talking over the restrictions with a minor and then agreeing jointly which will help them avoid temptation and which you can graduate them past with trust in the relationship.

At some point you'll need to find another avenue than technical measures for tracking or have an agreement that if you text he has so many minutes to get back to you, etc...


How do you type ~ on the iPhone's keyboard? The iPhone keyboard has support for typing characters like ¿ by selecting a similar character on the keyboard and holding the key for a short time. However, there doesn't seem to be a way to type a ~ character (a tilde). How does one do that?

On keyboard, press the 123 button to bring up numbers. From here press #+= to bring up more characters. ~ is the 4th from the left, second row.

Answered on an iPhone :D


How do I fix Double NAT caused by sharing wifi internet on my local wifi network? My apartment building provides free wifi internet.  I have a local wifi network with multiple IOT devices, so I need to be able to serve the building's wifi across my local wifi just as I would if I was accessing the internet by cable modem.  I own two wifi routers: A current gen Apple Express and an old Airport Extreme.

I set up the Airport Express to connect to my building's wifi.  I connected it by ethernet to my Airport Extreme, which sees it as if it were a modem.

It works, but, I get a Double NAT error.

A: How do I fix the Double NAT, and B: How do I make sure my local network is secure?

you need to put the base station into "Bridge Mode" so that it does not think it is on a separate network and merely participates in your building's WiFI.

Open up the Airport utility, select the Airport in question, Click the Network tab, then choose "Off (Bridge mode)" from the Router menu.

When you apply those changes the Airport will need to restart and you should be good to go.


Is it possible to make a screen recording of an entire page in a browser window? I know how to take full-length screenshots of a given page, but what about video? Audio recording not necessary, but would be interested to know of any tactics or well-hidden browser extension recos for capturing a full page in all its animated glory.

Perhaps there's something about how the viewport handles graphics that makes recording off-screen animation unfeasible, so I encourage sharing efficient ways to stitch multiple videos or other reasonable (free? easy?) workarounds.

Apple buit this functionality into Quicktime player and many people don't know it's there. In fact you can even record the screen of a connected iPad or iPhone.

Open Quicktime player and select New Screen recording... You will be given some brief instructions and then a button to click to start recording. When you are done, right-click on the Quicktime dock icon and end the recording.


Upgrade a MBP(8,1) dual i7 to 16GB RAM from 4GB or to a SSD? I currently find my new computer a bit slow when it comes to my number crunching requirements. Also, I find my computer painfully slow when it's running VirtualBox.

My budget is around $500. Newegg has 2 x 8GB for ~$220 and the 256GB for around $500.

My uses:

Heavy Number Crunching including calculations, multiple iterations, large matrix development and calculation (Not graphics)
Virtual Box with windows 7 for Visual Studio access and some other windows only GIS and Number Crunching software
General Internet Lamery
Word Processing (Microsoft Office)

16GB Memory + 128GB SSD + Data Doubler from OWC (or analog from ebay) to put SSD into it. Only caveat would be if your MBP is one of early ones that had Optical SATA connector capped at 3Gbps. Then if you want SSD to be as fast as possible it's better to put it in place of HDD.


How do I do custom key binding in iTunes? How would I assign

⌘1 to Music (Library item)
⌘2 to Movies
⌘3 to Podcasts

Surprisingly enough, these key bindings are not assigned to anything yet, and IMO they would be most convenient ones (see e.g. Mail.app).

I can't see any relevant item in AppleScript dictionary for iTunes…

For each Source/Library item (Music,Movies,Podcasts) you want to open with a shortcut, create a new Applescript as follows

tell application "iTunes"
try
    set view of front browser window to (get some playlist whose special kind is Podcasts)
end try
end tell

replacing "Podcasts" with "Music” or "Movies", and save it with to your ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts folder (if this doesn´t exist, create it!), giving it an unique name (like "show podcasts","show movies").

Next, open "System Preferences">"Keybaord">"Keyboard Shortcuts" and select "Application Shortcuts". Click on the little "plus" button to add a new shortcut with:

Application: iTunes
Menu Title: show podcasts   —this has to be exactly the name you gave your script
Keyboard Shortcut: <press your desired shortcut, eg. "cmd+2">

Now pressing "cmd+2" (or whichever shortcut you defined) while being in iTunes will open the Podcast library item.


Can I upgrade to Lion straight from 10.5.8? Can I upgrade to Lion from 10.5.8 without upgrading to 10.6.6 first?, or with a package deal?

And can I upgrade just downloading? -- Without having to have the discs mailed to me?

At the moment it is not possible to upgrade to Lion without first installing the App Store, and Apple hasn't announced any plan to make that available on versions older than Snow Leopard.

From Apple's press release announcing Lion's availability:

  Users who do not have broadband access at home, work or school can download Lion at Apple retail stores and later this August, Lion will be made available on a USB thumb drive through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) for $69 (US).

They haven't confirmed that this will work for upgrading for older versions, but given the price many people are assuming that this is the case.


Icons Within Apple Apps Disappearing in Mavericks Recently (as in today) I noticed that Finder had some missing icons in the toolbar.  I also noticed that Xcode 5 has some missing icons as well.  I have included an image of the Finder issue here.

I am running 10.9.1 (Most current version of Mavericks).

Any ideas on a cause?

Not entirely sure what the cause is, but this fixes it for me:

Boot into safe mode by holding shift on boot.
Login to your account.
Restart normally.

There appears to be some sort of caching error and this mechanism also is susceptible to the same fault on older OS as well.

From an Apple Support Communities thread, it seems that it can be fixed for some people by deleting the Dock's Application Support files.

rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db && killall -HUP Finder Dock


How to insert page number starting from custom index in Pages 5.6.1 I am having a project work which is split up as 10 different documents (each one is assumed to be a chapter). The first document has 12 pages, and I inserted page numbers and things are fine till this line.

Now I want to start the page number from 13 on the next document (Say chapter 2). I do not see any naked options which can do this.

What could be the possible workaround?

This pages help document has the answer for this question. Please refer https://help.apple.com/pages/mac/5.6/index.html?localePath=en.lproj#/tan7248753e


Unable to mount partition I've combined two partition formatted as NTFS for dual boot system with bootcamp. I did this while running windows using a special program to adjust partitions.
but after a necessary restart according the program some texts rolled by.
after that i lost access to the bootmanager and was unable to choice to boot to windows or Macintosh.

now I installed a fresh copy of mac os on the old partition where Windows was installed before.
I figured out that the partition where my Mac installation was on still exists, but its name has changed to "Windows Recovery" somehow.

disk0s2 is for as far as I know still the partition where my files are on.

what I like to accomplish now is get access somehow to this partition and copy my files before completely format the whole disk and install a fresh installation of Mac OS.

please help!

Below is the output from the following commands.

diskutil unmount disk0s2
sudo dd if=/dev/disk0s2 bs=512 count=3 | hexdump -Cv

Below is the output from the command diskutil info disk0s2 | grep -e Size -e Offset.

   Partition Offset: 314597376 Bytes (76806 4096-Byte-Device-Blocks)
   Disk Size: 351.0 GB (351027175424 Bytes) (exactly 685599952 512-Byte-Units)
   Device Block Size: 4096 Bytes

You need to enter the command given below.

diskutil info disk0s2 | grep -e Size -e Offset

You should see output similar to what is shown below.

   Partition Offset: 314597376 Bytes (76806 4096-Byte-Device-Blocks)
   Disk Size: 351.0 GB (351027175424 Bytes) (exactly 685599952 512-Byte-Units)
   Device Block Size: 4096 Bytes

You need to determine the offset and size in units of device blocks. In your case, the offset is 76806 Blocks and the size is 200000118784 Bytes/4096 Bytes per Block=85699994 Blocks.

Next, you need to boot to macOS Recovery. Basically, restart the Mac and hold down the ⌘+R key combination until macOS Recovery starts to boot.

From the menu bar, open a Terminal application window. Enter the following commands.

gpt -f remove -i 2 disk0
gpt -f add -i 2 -b 76806 -s 85699994 -t apfs disk0

Removing the APFS Container with the Untitled and Untitled - Data Volumes

The following commands can be use to remove this container. Here I assume you have booted from the macOS stored in the other container.

sudo diskutil apfs deletecontainer disk0s3
sudo diskutil erasevolume free none disk0s3

An alternative and perhaps safer way to remove this container would be to first boot to macOS Recovery over the Internet, a macOS installation flash drive or an external drive with macOS installed. Next, enter the following commands.

diskutil unmountdisk disk0
gpt remove -i 3 /dev/disk0.

Next, reboot back to macOS.

When finished, the drive will contain 150 GB of free space. This free space can be added to the remaining APFS container by entering the command given below.

sudo diskutil apfs resizeContainer disk0s2 0


How can I upgrade my MySQL 5.1 to MySQL 5.6, and migrate data I previously installed MySQL 5.1 using the installer, since then created a number of users/databases, and now would like to upgrade to 5.6. What is the procedure to do so?

The following assume your MySQL 5.1 is installed in /usr/local/mysql-5.1.46-osx10.6-x86_64 and that MySQL 5.6 will install in /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64. The exact directory names might differ depending on the exact version number you are using.

Download the MySQL 5.6 installer, for instance in DMG format, and run mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64.pkg
Stop the server

With MySQL Workbench, go to Server Administration
open mysql@localhost (add connection if not there)
under Startup / Shupdown, click Stop Server

Create backup of 5.6 data directory: sudo mv /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64/data /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64/data.save
Copy data directory from 5.1:  sudo cp -a /usr/local/mysql-5.1.46-osx10.6-x86_64/data /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64/
Start server (similar to stopping, see above)
Run mysql_upgrade, which checks all the tables and upgrades system tables
Check data there, with MySQL Workbench

In Server Administration, under Users and Privileges, check the expected users are present
In SQL Development, open a connection to the database, and run a few queries to check the expected data is present.

In MySQL Workbench, if getting "Error deleting password entry error when connecting with MySQL Workbench", upgrade to the latest version of MySQL Workbench


Mac crashes every time I try to run boot2docker I recently got a new MacBook Pro running OS X 10.10.2, and I installed boot2docker 1.5.0 on it. Aside from Chrome, this is the first program I installed on my new machine. However, when I try to run it, the terminal window opens up for a few seconds, saying boot2docker is up, and then my computer restarts automatically.

I tried to uninstall 1.5.0 and install 1.4.1 (as that is what I was using on my last machine), but I encountered the same problem.

The last thing I see before my laptop restarts is this:

The error report my computer shows after the restart is this:

Has anyone every had this problem before, or know how I can address it?

EDIT: I downloaded the installer from boot2docker's github repo: github.com/boot2docker/osx-installer/releases

There's a problem with OS X Security Update 2015-003 and boot2docker/virtualbox as discussed here:

https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/issues/800

The fix is to install the latest VirtualBox.


Shortcut to revert autocorrect change I like the autocorrect feature, but sometimes I want to revert to the word I typed. If i backspace to the word, I see an overlay with the word as I typed it, but can't figure how to revert to it without using the mouse. Any suggestion?

After you've got the overlay with the previous, uncorrected spelling, you can press the down arrow key, then Return/Enter. This accepts the selected, uncorrected spelling.


How do you change file associations on an iPad? I would like to change .pdf files to use a different application when clicking on links in a browser.

How can I do this?

You can and you can't at the same time. Safari will load the PDF automatically and display it but it will offer a "Open In" button where you can send the PDF to another application if it is configured by the developer to accept PDFs (eg. iBooks, GoodReader, etc.) At present there is no way to direct it directly to another application unless that application will take a URL you could copy and paste.


Restoring from Time Machine Backup – Cannot replace Mac HD I'm trying to restore my computer to a previous backup of my Mac HD. However, when I try, I see an error notice telling me that I cannot, since this file is not able to be deleted:

  .PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware

How do I restore to this backup from last week, considering that I can't delete the above folder, or resultantly, another version of Mac HD ?

What I've done:

Enter Time Machine > scroll through to appropriate backup > hit "restore" button > You can erase volume “Macintosh HD” and replace it with the restored volume or cancel to stop the restore. > receive error notice related to the above.

My assumption from how your question is worded is that you're trying to recover an entire HD, not just a single file, folder etc.

Instead, to do a full restore of your Mac you need to boot into macOS Recovery and use the Restore from Time Machine Backup utility.

You may find the following Apple Support resources helpful:

About macOS Recovery
How to move your content to a new Mac
How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac


New password after restoring iPod Touch from backup I restored my iPod Touch from an iTunes backup and my old password no longer works to get into the iPod. Any idea how I can figure out what the new password is? How can I change it back to the old password?

The passcode would be whatever the passcode was at the time of the backup you restored to. When you restore an iOS device from a backup, it puts all the software configuration back on the device, including the passcode that was set at the time.

If you want to get past this passcode, I suggest trying all your most recent passcodes. Be careful though, after a certain number of attempts your iPod may lock you out and prevent you from entering any more passcodes.

You can remove the passcode, but you will have to restore your iPod and you will not be able to restore from a backup.

You can do this by:

Plug your iPhone into a computer running the latest version of iTunes.
Hold the home button and the sleep/wake button for exactly 8 seconds.
After this 8 seconds is up, release the sleep/wake button, but continue to hold the home button until iTunes recognizes your iPhone.
Then, choose the Restore option (this should be the only option) and wait for iTunes to download the necessary software and restore your iPhone.


Does Screen Time log apps running with no windows open or while in screensaver mode? I noticed my Mac is logging 10hr+ daily usage of Mail, Safari and stuff. But they are just running in the background - since I don't want to always quit and launch these frequently used apps. But I am not sure how exactly the Screen Time is calculated.

Does it still accumulate when these apps running in the background, and even if I set my Mac to screensaver?

I have noticed that the Catalina version of the app simply displays how long apps are open, rather than how long they’re being used.

So if I keep Safari open on my Mac all the time, it reports that duration – even if Safari is in the background while I’m doing other things.

If I put my Mac to sleep with Safari frontmost, when I wake it up, it will be counted as a pickup. On iOS, this makes sense because when you wake up your iOS device, you are on the home screen, so you have to actively choose which app you are going to use. Also, it doesn’t seem to be reliably updated on the Mac; right now, I’ve put my Mac to sleep a couple of times yet when I awaken it, it doesn’t add to the number of pickups. And it’s not counting the System Preferences app, which I’ve used several times after waking up my Mac to view Screen Time.

So, in my opinion, the Screen Time report doesn't make proper sense in macOS.


Disable automatic switching to 4G from WiFi which doesn't have internet connection Have iPhone which is connected to WiFi network which doesn't have access to internet. iOS apparently detects that there is no internet and tries to disable WiFi for a short period of time and connect to 4G.

Noticed it because iPhone is connected to AirPlay device and music is stopped every ~15 minutes and when I check the connection I see 4G, but not WiFi.

Put your iPhone into Airplane Mode to disable the cellular connection. Then re-enable Wi-Fi networking (you can do this even in Airplane mode). This will cause it to stick with the Wi-Fi network.


How to know my kernel extensions are 64-bit ready? Is there an easy way to tell whether all my kernel extensions will "survive" booting with a 64 bit kernel? I can of course try the "6-4 finger boot", but maybe there is a piece of hardware I use infrequently and that won't work when I use it in a month, leaving me to wonder what went wrong.

I can see a list of extensions in System Profiler > Software > Extensions, with 8 of them listed as not "64-bit (Intel)", but 5 of them are "Pseudoextensions" with a Load Address "built-in to the kernel", and the 3 others are CHUD-related and will probably be gone once I update Xcode? Is that enough to conclude that I won't have problems? Or are there extensions that are not loaded now and that I can test somehow?

As far as I know, System Profiler won't display information for any .kext's that are being loaded and are located somewhere else besides the /System/Library/Extensions/ folder.

To get comprehensive information about the kernel extensions which are currently loaded and in use on your Mac, you can use the kextstat command line tool.

Open up the Terminal application (in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder), type the following at the prompt, and then hit return:

 kextstat

You will get a large list of all the loaded kernel extensions. You'll primarily want to focus on the bundle identifiers of the loaded .kexts. (That's the backwards domain name string such as "com.apple...."). You should be able to eliminate the ones that include "com.apple", as those will be Apple's and should have a K64 version. Once you've gotten rid of those, you'll then need to go over the remaining ones to make sure they are built as universal K32+K64 versions, or whether you may need to make sure you have the latest updates.

For example, after eliminating all the Apple kexts on the output I get, I have the following kexts listed. Since I switched to K64 a year or so ago, all of these are in order so everything is fine.

MacPro:~ mdouma46$ kextstat
Index Refs Address          Size   Wired  Name (Version) <Linked Against>
73  0 0xffffff7f8111a000 0x8000 0x8000  com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (3.2) <72 5 4 3 1>
81  0 0xffffff7f811bf000 0x9000 0x9000  jp.plentycom.driver.SteerMouse (4.0.2) <55 29 24 5 4 3>
105 0 0xffffff7f81499000 0x5000 0x5000  com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.2) <72 5 4 3>
115 0 0xffffff7f814bf000 0xd1000 0xd1000 com.vmware.kext.vmx86 (3.1.2) <7 5 4 3 1>
116 0 0xffffff7f81590000 0xc000 0xc000   com.vmware.kext.vmci (3.1.2) <5 4 3 1>
117 0 0xffffff7f8159c000 0x7000 0x7000  com.vmware.kext.vmioplug (3.1.2) <29 24 5 4 3 1>
118 0 0xffffff7f815a3000 0xa000 0xa000  com.vmware.kext.vmnet (3.1.2) <5 4 3 1>
119 0 0xffffff7f815ad000 0x2000 0x2000  com.nvidia.CUDA (1.1.0) <4 1>


No internet when booting from Windows to OS X I installed Windows with Bootcamp and have an Airport Express. Every time I boot from Windows to OS X it connects to the wireless network but not to the internet. Other devices still keep their connection to the internet.

So, the only thing that makes this work is to turn Macbook's Wi-Fi off, turn Airport off (!) and turn on everything again.

The same problem also happens when I boot from OS X to Windows, but in this case is easier, since I only have to turn off and on the Wi-Fi.

The problem doesn't happen with my Linksys router.

I'm using Moutain Lion 10.8.2, Windows 7 x64 and I think I have the last Airport firmware version: 7.6.2. I'm using DHCP.

Do I have to click on the Bootcamp tool and chose Restart in OS X... option or can I simply restart the computer using the Start button?

It sounds to me more like your Airport Express is acting up (since you mentioned that the Mac works fine with your older LinkSys router.) Check for a firmware update via Airport Utility.
Additionally, you can force Windows to release the DHCP lease on its IP address by going in to the Windows command prompt and typing

C:\Users\myusername> ipconfig /release

Just do that before you restart into Mac OS X. I agree with @Buscar that you should try to reinstall the BootCamp drivers (and check Windows Update for any updated drivers.)


How to locally share photos on a Mac I have two user accounts on my Mac, and I need the photo library (full of Photos) on the secondary account to be shared with the primary account. I can't use iCloud as the library exceeds 5GB and I can't buy more storage. Solution?

Apple documents that every release of their photo app if things change.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201517

Pretty easy to put the library outside the home folder of the users and share.


I've inadvertently deleted my thunderbird.dmg, does it matter? I've inadvertently deleted my thunderbird.dmg & then emptied the trash.  Doh!

Is there any way I can restore that particular file?

I'm running Mac OS X Version 10.6.4 on a macbook pro.

If the file is in the Trash, you can just drag it back out. However, once you remove the item from the Trash it's as good as gone*. Why not just download it again?

* there are some programs that claim to be able to restore deleted data, but the chances of recovering a large file like a DMG on the system drive are virtually nonexistent


Problems with saving to external USB Flash Storage I have an external USB Flash storage which is generally realiable.

When editing text files on the drive I often get the message:

The document “…” could not be saved. The file doesn’t exist.

However, sometimes it does save successfully.

I have formatted the flash drive first as ExFAT and later as FAT32 (it is 64Gb); FAT32 appears to be a little more reliable, but it hasn’t solved the problem. I have also tried attaching the drive first to a powered USB hub, and later directly to the back. Again, it doesn’t help.

What might be causing this problem, and how can I fix it?

From your problem description your filesysyem might be damaged.
Check this with Disk Utility > verify.

If Disk Utility does report any error

then fix them.

Next run verify many times (10 is what I use) on your USB key.

If errors appear,

then your USB is aging and start to behave
badly when heating,
in this case: change it;

else problem fixed.


Fluctuating maximum battery capacity I've noticed today that my MBP 15" late 2014 maximum battery capacity is fluctuating somewhat.

These two screenshots were taken just seconds apart http://imgur.com/a/jqyZs

Should I be worried? Should I "recalibrate" the batteries?

Thanks!

The system management controller is responsible for reading battery voltages and reporting it to the operating system. You could reset that one time to see if it made a difference. When the output voltage of the battery shifts like that, it's a sign of failure within the battery.

Getting the machine serviced would be the way to fix that if it's not the SMC.


macOS - ntpd uses more than 100% of CPU it happens couple times every day, my MacBook becomes extremely slow. When I check Activity Monitor, I see that ntpd process uses more than 100% of my CPU (usually around 140-180%).

If I kill it (Force Quit), MacBook starts working as usual. But it will happen again in several hours. How can I fix this issue? It becomes really annoying

It started after one of the software updates (not sure exactly when).

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) with macOS 10.12.3

Go to System Preferences > Date and Time and uncheck Set date and time automatically. Close System Preferences, then reopen and re-check Set date and time automatically


Is there such thing as a SuperDrive enclosure? The OWC Data Doubler allows you to remove the SuperDrive of a MacBook or MacBook Pro and install a secondary drive. This leaves you with two drives in your Mac laptop, and a SuperDrive sitting on your desk. Is there any sort of SuperDrive enclosure that would allow you to put a SuperDrive inside of it, and then plug into your computer via USB?

Yes, I have this one.  I got it at Fry's in exchange for one by sabrent that didn't work with my mid-2010 superdrive. This new one works just fine with my removed superdrive on 10.6.4, even though the box says it's compatible with basically every version of windows but does not mention OS X.

The one caveat... it comes with a wall adapter for powering the driver rather than a second usb cable. However, I have a USB to male power cable. I plan to remove the power connector and swap it for the connector that is on the plug in adapter that came with the enclosure. The adapter just outputs 5V 2000mA, so I don't see any reason why a straight USB connection wouldn't work just fine.

Check out the MCE Optibay alternatives thread on macrumors.com:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=680228&page=40


Searching for emails containing specified text string in body of email messages in MacOS mail Does anyone know how to search within Apple Mail (on MacOS, or iOS) for emails containing a specific text string (e.g. MacBook).
It used to do this by default, but it seems that more recently it is only possible to search headers, sender, etc. ;but not the body of the text. Unless I'm missing something?
This is extremely inconvenient as I used to use the emails as a sort of filing system and now this doesn't seem to be possible. the result is that now I can't find important emails. For example, and most frustratingly, I'd search for invoices from apple when I purchased hardware (like a MacBook).  However the name of the item purchased in not in the header, but in the body text. Now I can't find invoices without a huge amount of work.
I can't be the only one who used emails like this, yet I can find no mention of this issue anywhere. Does anyone know of a workaround? Or is there another mail client, app or software that can search my email body text and identify the requisite emails?
As an aside; does anyone know when this change occurred. I suspect it was with the introduction of Catalina, but I can find no reference to this change being made.
Any help much appreciated.

Searching is performed in whole messages but one can do it explicitly as well.
There is drop-down list of options from which one can select 'Entire Message':

There can be several reasons why mail is not found. One of them could be indexing failure on Mac side and another is IMAP settings of mail provider (there can be limit set for number of mails in local machine)


How to prevent internet access to specific clients I have a Mac OS X Server which also runs a DHCP and DNS server for my network. I would like to have a simple way (possibly even bash script) to temporarily prevent internet access for specific devices.
For example I would like to deactivate the kid's Apple TV from streaming content from the internet, when I am working remotely.

Thanks

You could possibly alter the DHCP reservation for the device(s) you wish to prevent internet access in such a way to make the DNS pointer point to something invalid, 127.0.0.1

Not sure if it's what you're after but it could be worth looking into. If I had OS X server myself, I'd write you up an applescript snippet to do the switching quickly and automagically.


Can Internet sharing be configured to be a bridge/switch rather than a separate NAT/router? I'd like to use my wired-ethernet desktop mac as a wifi bridge so that everything that connects to it over wi-fi can see and be seen by everything else on the LAN.

There's clearly no way to do this in the GUI, but I was wondering if there is some way to do it in Terminal.

I'm looking for a solution for El Capitan, but if you have a solution for some other version, that would be acceptable, too.

I saw this link, but instructions are outdated and does not work on El Capitan
http://www.notadiscussion.com/2014/01/how-to-make-real-network-bridge-with.html

Trying to find a solution myself for El Capitan


Installing Python 3.0 on my Mac I'm using built-in Python 2.6.1, however, I need to run Python 3.0 from time to time.

Is it OK to install Python 3.0 on my Mac? Is there anything that I need to be cautious?
How about the easy_install? If I have 2.6 and 3.0 on my Mac, where to the library for easy_install is installed?
Is there any easy way to make python point to 2.6 or 3.0?

There are several ways to install Python and which way affects the later answers.
In all cases you should install a later Python 3 version - 3.1.3 is the latest released version. For choosing which to run I would call python3.1 or python2.6 to be explicit as the language differs enough that the code is specific to the 2.x or 3.x branches. In fact much code starts with the #!/usr/bin/env python line but is 2.x specific. I would say that having the python executable on your path being linked to python3.1 would be a problem Apple scripts that use python always look for /usr/bin/python so will always find the Apple version and not a properly installed other version.

easy_install is from an external package setuptools and you can tell setup.py where to put it.

Simplest is install from the python.org installer This will give a python3 executable in /usr/local/bin (and possibly python as well). In this case I would create a python symbolic link in ~/bin (pointing to the apple python or python3 and you can switch where it points as you require without sudo which a link in /usr/local/bin would require.
In this case I think easy_install for python3 will by default end up in /usr/local/bin and the apple one is in /usr/bin

I use macports versions and they install in /opt/local and have a script port select that will switch /opt/local/bin/python between the 3.1 or 2.6 versions (or any others you have installed) - unfortunately not does not do this for  easy_install which is in  /opt/local/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.6/bin (or 3.1 etc)


How to create a meta-playlist? I'd like to create a meta-playlist that plays various playlists I created in order, with the added functionality to set limits on how many songs will play from each playlist.  Can this be done, either in iTunes or other software?

My example is the following:

I grew up listening to The Beatles albums and I'm accustomed to hearing their songs in a specific order.  For example, the album "Revolver" has 14 songs and it starts with Taxman, followed by Eleanor Rigby, followed by I'm Only Sleeping, etc.

Over the years, I've collected cover versions of Beatles songs.  Let's say I now have five cover versions of each song on Revolver.

I'd like to hear new versions of Revolver: that is, to hear a randomly selected cover version of the song Taxman, followed by a cover of Eleanor Rigby, followed by I'm Only Sleeping, etc.

Doable?

You could do a whole gas factory for that in AppleScript.

You could also achieve that with folders and playlists .m3u.

Let’s say :

One folder = one album. Inside the folder, 14 .m3u files.
One .m3u file = one playlist = one title of the album = 5 versions of the song.

And you could play the folder with VLC. However, this would not be prettily integrated in iTunes.


How "official" is libressl support in High Sierra? I am trying to port an OpenSSL-based C program from Linux to macOS, and I would like to use a library for TLS which is officially supported by the OS, because then the OS keeps that library up-to-date and secure without any extra work for me or the user of my application.

I though LibreSSL was officially supported in macOS and I have already ported my program have a LibreSSL backend, but I'm unsure of the state of LibreSSL within macOS. Is there any official documentation that addresses whether developers should treat the LibreSSL library as depricated or not?

PS: I've searched on Apple's developer site, but the official Apple documentation about encrypting network communication makes ABSOLUTELY NO mention of LibreSSL (which is not the same as OpenSSL).

MacOS provided openssl-0.9.8 (when the world was using 1.0.2, and contemplating 1.1 and 1.1.1) until High Sierra release. Now in MacOS 10.13.5 it's libressl-2.2.7, while the current libressl is 2.7.4.

It looks like MacOS-provided LibreSSL does not come with any engines, and it is unclear whether it's possible to even add an engine to it. That means - no openssl using keys on hardware tokens accessible via PKCS#11, no hardware RNG accessible via PKCS#11 or RDRAND, etc.
UPDATE: It also doesn't seem to have the include files required to compile your applications. So it seems that you cannot build your software against MacOS LibreSSL even if you wanted to (well, you might be able to by downloading LibreSSL-2.2.7 yourself, etc. - but I'm very sure it isn't worth the hassle).

Since I don't want to write code that runs only on Mac, I can't afford to get stuck with Apple Secure Transport or such.

Therefore my personal recommendation would be to install and work with a "real" openssl, installing it via Macports (as I did for the "production" stuff on my systems) or Brew. In that case, the package maintainers would track the updates and security fixes for you, but you maintain compatibility with your Linux code with minimal efforts.


HDMI on MacBook Pro stopped working The HDMI port on my MacBook Pro doesn't seem to be functioning normally.

When I plug it into the TV, the screen temporarily turns black as if it is connecting to the TV, the mirror connection even comes up and I can see the other display (My Tv) and change the settings.

However, on my TV it shows a No Signal message. What is the reason for this? When I hook my Xbox 360 up via the same port, it works flawlessly on the TV. This leads me to believe the is a problem with my laptop. It was just working a couple of days ago, and detects the external device just fine. What is the reason for the No Signal/black screen issue?

could be a hdmi cable issue
maybe restart your computer. in OSX 10.9 Mavericks has some issue with dual monitoring, restart without the video cable plugged in . once its fully started, try plugging in the video cable again.


Disable password authentication on SSH server on OS X Server 10.8 I want to disable the password authentication of the SSH server on my OS X Server. this should be done in /etc/sshd_config, right? But I’m not sure which setting I should change…

As any BSD system you should toggle off some options in your sshd_config like I've described in this Stack Overflow answer:

UsePam yes # it will not be used
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
PasswordAuthentication no
kbdInteractiveAuthentication no


How to start Tunnelblick VPN connection via Terminal I can connect/disconnect using the Tunnelblick app. How do I connect via the command line?

/Applications/Tunnelblick.app/Contents/Resources/openvpnstart start ???

How do I determine the parameters to pass?

A possibly better idea than messing around with openvpn directly (Tunnelblick is basically just a fancy GUI around it) would be to use an Applescript, something that can definitely be launched from the terminal (i.e. with osascript)

Example taken from here:

tell application "Tunnelblick"
    connect "Company_VPN"
    get state of first configuration where name = "Company_VPN"
    repeat until result = "CONNECTED"
        delay 1
        get state of first configuration where name = "Company_VPN"
    end repeat
end tell

You'd write this into the Script Editor, save it, and then you could launch it from the terminal with osascript, or by double clicking on the script.


Where is the Volume Control in an iPod Touch? I have an iPod touch for my teen who continues to put the volume on high. My son has ASD and always wants everything set to high.

There is no volume control password option, how do I get this?

You first have to turn on Parental Control and then you can enforce a maximum volume limit.

Apple's article on parental controls and guided tutorial should let you configure your son's device.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/


Can not share the internet via wireless OK, from the first picture it is a case of internet sharing via wireless is successful. And in the second case on picture two I tried to share internet via wireless by tick off and tick on "Internet Sharing"(again and again) but it doesn't work. I can not share the internet via wireless (notice the red highlight frame the wireless status logo it doesn't change)

what have i tried ?

Sometimes, I could figure out this problem by restart my computer. But do you have the another ways to figure out this problem without of restarting the computer?

I noticed an Issue in our Company on some of the 2011 27-Inch iMacs were sometimes the Ethernet-Adapter failed.

If your Ethernet Adapter is not connected to the Internet, your Mac won't share the connection via Wireless, because there is no ethernet/internet to share.

You may try it : Plug in the ethernet cable, share the ethernet via wireless.
If it starts to share ( like in the first picture ), plug off the cable and watch what happens. I can't reproduce it here, but it will probably change to the grayed icon as seen in picture 2.

Other reason could be a failure of the Router were the internet is coming from.
The Sharin panel is simply sharing "Internet Access" so if you are connected to your Intranet ( Home Network ) but not to the Internet (www), then it will also not work like you expect it. The Icon will stay gray, until you are sure you have access to the Internet.

And If you really have Internet Access via the Ethernet Adapter, then there is something wrong with the Mac.
You could Try :
- Reset PRAM (at start sound press CMD + ALT + P + R)
- Reset SMC (press power button for a couple of seconds when the cable is unplugged and the mac is turned of)
- Restart the Ethernet Adapter -> go to the system preference pane for the network, click on the ethernet adapter -> go down to the little gear and click on deactivate service, wait a minute, then click on activate service and the ethernet should start properly.

This could happen if the Ethernet Drivers are not working properly and in some cases it can happen, that those crash. I had that Issue on a older Mac Pro that always refused to connect, when I restarted the router and the mac got a new IP.

So there are as always many reasons, that could cause the problem.
just comment if you are getting any closer to the problem.
Then we are able to help in a more specific way.


Audio intermittently goes out of sync I'm experiencing playback issues with all media, streamed and local.

Whenever I play a video or listen to music, the audio will occasionally go out of sync with the playback. (A lot more of an issue with video but this also happens with general music playing.)

I'll then have to pause the media, wait about 10 seconds, and hit play again and then playback will be fine until it goes out of sync again 20 minutes later.

I've searched a lot online for this issue, and I can't really find many resources to fix the problem.  Is anyone aware of what might be causing the problem? Maybe a solution?

Hardware: Macbook Pro (mid 2014), Yosemite (10.10.3).

Turns out it was a bug with an equaliser app I was using, Boom 2.

They have fixed this in their latest update.

Hope this helps anyone with the same issue.


How to Generate a Globe / Sphere of Icons / Images Does anyone know how to generate a sphere of icons like Apple has done in their keynotes.

Such as: http://blog.utest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/iStock_000020649912XSmall.jpg

or

http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/19391158/2/stock-photo-19391158-media-technologies-concept.jpg

I remember a few years ago Apple released an app called Core Animation or something that allowed you to create those globes and or 3d walls of images with reflections but I can't seem to find that anymore. If anyone has any advice on an app or web app that would work with a Mac that would be great. Otherwise the only option I see so far is doing it manually in photoshop like this: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d/create-a-spherical-3d-puzzle-with-photoshop/?search_index=2

Core Animation is the part of OS X that "simplifies" programming animation. It's not a stand-alone program. Not to get too technical, it uses the OS's underlying Quartz APIs for drawing objects onscreen. Quartz Compositor is a stand-alone program that allows for building objects and animations.

What is your final intent of the sphere graphic? Do you need just a static "3D" image for a keynote presentation? Will you require a spinning globe? Do you require light rays and interactions as it spins?

Any good graphic designer or programmer (Apple included!) will make their craft look simple. The 35 major steps in the Photoshop tutorial are a testimony to my statement! The more advanced the need, from web to print to video to HD, the more complex the project.

Here are my recommendations of places to start, depending upon your output needs:

web: Use Photoshop to create your flat artwork then wrap it around a basic 3D object. 72dpi final is all you need. JPG if you don't need transparency, PNG if you do need to preserve transparency.
print: I'd also use Photoshop as with web, but final artwork needs to be 200dpi to 300dpi. Same output file formats based upon transparency needs.
video (static): Photoshop as above.
video (animated): at this point you're taking a big leap in complexity. Unless you have an understanding of a 3D modeling program, seek out someone who does. Check with your local college's graphic arts or film department.

I wish you luck with your project. If you end up biting off more than you can chew, take a step back and try breaking the task down into simpler steps and trying again.


How do I transfer my old mail to my new Lion mail.app I have a new imac with Lion. How can I transfer my imap mail from my older imac with 10.5.8?

In the IMAP protocol, all E-Mails are stored and managed on the server. This allows multiple clients on different computers to manage the same mailbox.

By default, the Mail.app in OSX Lion also stores Drafts, Notes and Sent Messages on the server.

Just setup your mail account in System Preferences → Mail, Contacts & Calendars and you should be fine. Your E-Mails will be downloaded from the server.


Siri unable to determine my location despite location services enabled Specs: MacBook Pro Late 2012 running macOS High Sierra

I am trying to ask Siri to tell me what the weather is in my current area, but apparently Siri is saying that it doesn't know where I am, despite having location services enabled.

I tried disabling and re-enabling Location Services for Siri through System Preferences, but that didn't seem to fix anything, and Siri said the same thing: "could not determine your location."

Then, I disabled Location Services itself, but when I re-enable it, Siri still can’t tell me where the Mac is.

My timezone is also correct, but Maps isn't able to determine my current location either.

What are next steps in fixing this?

EDIT - Already fixed this by installing the latest macOS update.

Signing into iCloud and turning on both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ensures that your Mac has the best chance of finding its location.   I believe that if you sign into iOS devices that happen to have GPS or location services working, your Mac might be smart enough to figure out where it is based on sharing the same Internet connection in proximity, but I am not sure.

The primary way that location is determined as if Apple knows the IP address you are reaching so be sure you turn off all VPNs and get on as open a network is you can initially. The second way is trilateralization from known WiFi access points that your WiFi can see. You don’t have to join those networks, but you need a viable network connection back to Apple.


How to add printer with lpadmin and have it show up in Printers and Scanners in System Preferences? I am using Mojave, and I am able to add a printer using lpadmin.  I can then print a test page to that printer using the CUPS web interface.  Additionally, the printer is listed with lpstat -p.  However, the printer does not appear in the Printers & Scanners preferences pane, so it is inaccessible from other applications.

Here is the lpadmin command I am using:

  lpadmin -p MyPrinter -E -v lptone:/path/to/file

This printer is using a custom CUPS backend (lptone) that is a script that generates a file name using a UUID and then writes the printed content into that file, so the /path/to/file portion of the URI is ignored.  I know this part works because I can print a test page to this printer from the CUPS web interface, and I get a file with the test page content generated at the path where the script is supposed to put it.  I have tried doing lpadmin as myself and with sudo.

If I first add the printer using the Printers & Scanners preferences pane (address=localhost:631, queue=printers/MyPrinter), then use lpadmin -p MyPrinter -v lptone:/path/to/file to adjust the output device (i.e., CUPS backend), the printer remains in the Printers & Scanners preferences pane, and I can print to it from other applications.

Have you tried this?  Add an IP printer with command line. It looks like there are some options that you might be missing that will identify the printer in Printers and Scanners.


Switching back to mac os from Ubuntu Problems A little while ago I switched my late 2015 Macbook Air to Ubuntu (not dual boot) because I needed a linux computer for work. I overwrote the existing os because it was taking up a massive amount of the storage space and i said "I can always just use a bootable usb to switch back if i dont like Ubuntu". This might have been stupid, but it made sense at the time. There have been issues with Ubuntu and I like it less in general, and no longer need it for work, so I am trying to switch back to mac os. I tried booting the computer in Internet Recovery mode by holding Command + R and selected the Reinstall OSX option and went through the steps until I got to the part where you select the disk to install it on. Normally I think there would be an option called Macintosh HD there, but it is currently empty, as you can see in the attached image.
I also should mention that I have a bootable usb with High Sierra on it that I made with my other computer, and when I plug it in, and boot the computer while holding the option key and follow the necessary steps I get the same problem, where the hard drive is not visible, and only the bootable usb is shown. Is it possible that when I installed Ubuntu I overwrote the Macintosh HD? Is there any hope of getting back to mac os? Any help is appreciated.

Note: My Mac has a single internal SSD.

Yes, when you installed Ubuntu, you overwrote the partition named Macintosh HD. You will need to recreate this partition before installing macOS (OS X).

You can use the Disk Utility application to erase your drive. For name, use Macintosh HD. For the format, use either Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted).

Sometimes when the previous operating system was Linux, this can fail. If so, perform the steps given below.

From the menu bar, select Utilities→Terminal.
In the Terminal windows enter the following commands.

diskutil  unmountdisk  disk0
diskutil  erasedisk  jhfs+  "Macintosh HD"  GPT  disk0

Quit the Terminal application.
If you want encryption, use the Disk Utility application to erase the drive again.
Install macOS (OS X).

Note: If you install or upgrade to High Sierra and your internal drive is a SSD, then this drive will probably to converted to use the new Apple File System (APFS) format.


What is the specification of the extra screws needed to install a second drive to an upper-drive populated Mac Mini 2012? I ordered the wrong OWC Data Doubler kit. I didn't notice the note saying that some Mac Minis have an upper drive configuration and that it would require a variant of the kit with additional components. The additional items in the variant are the 5mm wrench and 2 set screws. I considered exchanging the item but the local shop that imported the item is charging me for the return. Does anybody know the specification of the additional screws that I need? There's a similar question I found here Can the 2011 Mac-Mini (not the Server Edition) Support an Additional Hardisk, SSD?. But it's unclear whether the ifixit kit mentioned here is for the lower drive config or upper drive config Mac Mini.

According to iFixit's HD replacement guide for Mac Mini 2012, you need both a T6 Torx screwdriver and a T8 Torx screwdriver. The guide shows the corresponding screw specifications for each relevant step (IE two 6.6 mm T8 Torx screws), but iFixit only sells the screwdrivers, not the screws themselves AFAIK. They do, however, supply you with the information needed regarding all the relevant screws.


Safari 5.1 (OS X Lion) Inspect Element / Web Inspector always pops up and is not docked to main window Been using OS X 10.7 Lion since early developer previews and there is this bug (or feature that's not implemented). Clicking Inspect Element/Web Inspector of the Develop tools will always pop up the Web Inspector window. It used to be stuck or used to remember my preference and used it as default.

It is docked by default on Chrome and FireBug is well docked in Firefox and it was docked by default (or remember my settings) in Safari 5 on Snow Leopard.

Anyone faced this issue and have a fix?

Much appreciated.

At the bottom left hand corner of the popup there is a little button that looks like a dark square with a white square in it. That button pops the inspector in and out.

Don't know if that will fix your problem but you can try


What makes an app unique from POV of options -> assign to desktop? What is the set of things that differentiate one application from another from the point of view of right-click on dock icon -> Options -> Assign To (All Desktops / This Desktop / None)?

I've experimented and haven't been able to hit on a combination of actual binary name / Info.plist values / PkgInfo string that will make Mac OS X workspaces think a duplicated application is different from the original for purposes of automatic desktop assignment.

Found it, just leaving this here to make it easier for others to find answers via google. See:

Assign Application Windows to Different Spaces/Desktops
Is there a way to hide certain apps from the cmd+tab menu?

Specifically, the one thing you need to care about is CFBundleIdentifier in the app's Contents/Info.plist file. Here is a part from a script that may be useful:

  # Change Bundle ID so desktop assignation works. Not sure if this will survive updates.
  # CFBundleIdentifier must contain only alphanumeric (A-Z,a-z,0-9), hyphen (-), and period (.) characters.
  # (Based on fiddling around there also seems to be a length limit.)
  UUID="$(echo $APP | md5sum | awk '{print $1}' | tr [0-9] [A-Z] | cut -c 1-4,29-32)"
  plutil -replace CFBundleIdentifier -string "cdi.$UUID" -- "$RUNTIMES/$APP/Contents/Info.plist"
  #plutil -replace CFBundleName -string "$APP" -- "$RUNTIMES/$APP/Contents/Info.plist"
  #plutil -replace CFBundleDisplayName -string "$APP" -- "$RUNTIMES/$APP/Contents/Info.plist"
  # To check: defaults read ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.spaces.plist app-bindings

To see this in some context, see my answer to this question: Is there a simple way to have separate dock icons for different Chrome Profiles?


Sendmail Error on OS X Mountain Lion I get an error when trying to run sendmail. I am on OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

sendmail: fatal: chdir /Library/Server/Mail/Data/spool: No such file or directory

Just execute in terminal

sudo mkdir -p /Library/Server/Mail/Data/spool
sudo /usr/sbin/postfix set-permissions
sudo /usr/sbin/postfix start

That did the trick for me.


MacBook Hangs on Boot at seemingly different stages each time Our Macbook hangs on startup and doesn't boot into the desktop environment.  The most notable problem is that the Macbook doesn't make the usual startup sound when we boot up.  It doesn't make any sounds at all at startup.  Then it hangs for a long time on the grey screen with the Apple symbol and the spinner.

We have tried to restart it several times, and most of the times it does what I wrote above, but on a couple occasions it actually showed the desktop background, but then froze.  One time it showed the blue screen and then froze.

I have tried to boot into Safe Mode (holding shift) and it won't boot into safe mode either.  I tried booting into Safe Mode with verbose enabled, and the few times I did it, I didn't see any errors, but it stopped once after this line:

AirPort: RSN handshake complete on en1

The other 2 times it stopped after a few lines later:

NTFS volume name , version 3.1

After seeing these lines on the verbose output it just stops.

The one thing I CAN do is boot into command line mode (holding command+s), and I can navigate through the file system via command line.  I performed fsck -f and it said there weren't any problems with the hard disk.

That is about all I know, any help would be greatly appreciated.  Is there any way I can recover this computer?

Thanks

Your problem seems to be bit deeper since you tried few options already.

You might or might not have the recovery installed!

You could get one and use it from USB, or if it happens so you might have bootable os on USB.

In none of the above is possible then try using the Target disk mode.

For that you will need a second mac (not many have that).

To some degree the Apple Hardware test could detect problems with hardware.

Press and hold the D key before the gray startup screen appears.


Errors with the Apple Help Indexer A coworker is having problems generating the search for a Chinese help system in the Apple Help Indexer 4.3. The HTML pages are encoded as GB2312. When she creates the index, she gets many “NSXMLParserErrorDomain” errors and an error that the action cannot be finished.

She’s indexing the help on Mavericks 10.9.5.

Has anyone ever run across this problem?

Files to be used have to be valid XHTML files and have to verify against the XHTML DTD

From Apple's Authoring Apple Help Document

  you need to create HTML files for your help pages. To ensure that your help displays properly in Help Viewer, your help files should comply with the HTML 4.01 specification. Your main file—which contains the AppleTitle meta tag—should conform to the XHTML 1.0 specification.

As the main file is XHTML Apple uses the faster XML parser for it, which Uses Objective C classes beginning with NSXML and errors (e.g. non valid or verified text) will raise NSXMLParserErrorDomain errors.


VMware: Shared folders on mac not updated on the virtual machine I'm using vmware on mac to emulate Ubuntu.

When I change shared folders files on OSX I don't see the changes (automatically updated) in Ubuntu...

When I added the folder, everything was visible and it perfectly worked, but when I edited some files, these become red in the Ubuntu terminal, and I cannot see the new versions of them (even if I restart Ubuntu, I guess the only way is to remove and add the shared folder again).

Any help ?

I've solved. The problem was that I was using symbolic links applied to the files instead of the parent folder.


Need help verifying my newly created Apple ID I want to create an Apple-ID to download viber on my iPod.

Having selected "None" for the payment method and having inserted my address, it takes me out of there.

So, I don't get an email to verify the Apple-ID.

What's going on?

In my experience, it’s usually Apple’s servers causing the delay. Sometimes it can take a few hours to receive, and/or requires multiple resend requests. The quickest way to resolve the issue is by Contacting Apple ID support directly.

That said, they do have a support article for your issue: If you didn't receive  your Apple ID verification or reset email.

To summarize the basics:

  Check all your mail folders, including spam and junk. The sender address is appleid@id.apple.com.
  Confirm that you entered your email address correctly in your Apple ID account
  Check that your email client is working properly.
  Sign into your account at My Apple ID and resend the verification email.


Using an iMac as a secondary monitor I have an early 2009 iMac (The last one that was 24 inches) and a Macbook Pro from work. Occasionally I work from home and would like to use my iMac as a second monitor with the Macbook.

Is this possible? And what cable do I need? If not, I'm thinking of getting the new non-retina iMac, is it possible with that?

As explained here, the first iMac to allow this is the 27-inch Late 2009 iMac.

There are, though, some Applications which may achieve something similar, requiring both computers to be connected to the same LAN/WiFi/VPN, and sending all the information, the one to be displayed on the second computer working as a display, through it. Such as ScreenRecycler. You can find some more here.


Why does a network volume have a "-1" at the end after upgrading to Lion? I have a USB hard drive attached to an Airport Extreme called "Webb Family Network Storage."

After upgrading to Lion, about 50% of the time, this volume will mount with a "-1" on the end, showing up as "/Volumes/Nic's Airport Extreme/Webb Family Network Storage-1/"

Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal, but a few apps that use Java or Air that interact directly with the paths (such as Eye-Fi's Upload Center or CrashPlan) will detect that the volume is missing and I'll either have to re-configure them to use the new "-1" path or reboot the machine and hope that it connects using the "old" path.

Is there a workaround for this? Some sort of cache I can clear?

When the drive is ejected, does the directory /Volumes/Nic's Airport Extreme/Webb Family Network Storage/ exist? If so, move it to the desktop (so you save any contents, if any) and reboot.


Error 105, press F5 on Safari using Sierra Since update to macOS Sierra I have permanent error while trying to watch movie on the ewebsite:

Do you know how to solve this?

All you need to do is change your wifi setting. Change Configure iPv6 to Link-local only


Shutdown Script in macOS / RAM Disk Backup I'm attempting to create a shutdown script in macOS (10.11) - that is, a script that runs at shutdown, not a script that shut's down the Mac. The linux "rc" system is not present in macOS.

I've searched and searched for a solution, and this is the only one I've been able to find. It launches at boot with launchd, and both the startup and shutdown functions run when they should:

#!/bin/bash

function startup()
    {
    ## commands to create and fill ram disk

    tail -f /dev/null &
    wait $!
    }

function shutdown()
    {
    ## commands to backup contents of ramdisk

    exit 0
    }

trap shutdown SIGTERM

startup;

As I said, both the startup() and the shutdown() functions run when expected. The problem lies within the commands of the shutdown function. It's a pretty simple script, it just copies the contents of the ram disk to a folder on the hard drive:

function backup_ramdisk()
    {
    ## empty ram disk backup folder
    rm -R -f /webfolder-backup/*

    ## copy contents of the ramdisk to the ramdisk backup
    cp -R /Volumes/webfolder/ /webfolder-backup/

    ## make me the owner
    chown -R me /webfolder-backup/
    chmod -R 777 /webfolder-backup/

    exit 0
    }

The actual script is loaded with extras that log stuff, and I can confirm that the entire script does run. But what happens is the cp line fails. Sometimes it fails completely, and the backup folder is empty. But more often, it gets part of the structure of the RAM disk, and stops copying files right around (but not exactly) the same spot.

Often times it will throw the error cp: /Volumes/webfolder/: No such file or directory even though it has already copied a hundred items from that folder. It makes me think that the shutdown command is unmounting the RAM disk before my script has time to finish backing it up. Keep in mind, because it's a RAM disk, it only takes a couple of seconds to copy all the files off of it. But it seems that's not enough. If there were a way I could pause the shutdown process while my script is running, then proceed, that would be ideal! Or maybe a better approach to this entirely?

Regarding your comparison with Linux: Mac OS X did indeed have the "rc" system, you know from Linux (it is really called a SysV init system). Back in 2005 this system was abandoned with OS X Lion, and the more modern launchd system was introduced instead - leading to, amongst other things, much faster boots.

On Linux the same change has happened, however later than on macOS. Nowadays Linux distributions commonly use systemd, upstart or similar "modern" take on an init system.

Regarding your solution - it is really a hack, and it not done the right way. This is why you're having issues. You're trapping both SIGTERM and SIGKILL - this is against recommendations, and it is the cause of the "No such file or directory" error message.

Basically what happens on shutdown (this is completely similar to Linux) is that each process is sent SIGTERM to let it know that it should terminate. The process then only has a very short time to close (i.e. within few seconds) - otherwise the system sends the SIGKILL signal to really kill off the process if it is not responding.

In your case when the copying takes a bit too long, you'll trap both signals and you will run your shutdown() function twice.

You haven't included your launchd configuration (i.e. probably a daemon plist), but you need to be careful to have dependencies and orders configured here in order for your hack to work. Otherwise you risk the RAM disk being unmounted before shutdown is called (which is probably what happens when you run shutdown the second time due to the SIGKILL signal.

As far as I remember the /etc/rc.shutdown.local file is still a valid method to run programs at shutdown. This is by far the easiest way of doing it.

Simply create the /etc/rc.shutdown.local file and make it executable. It should start with a shebang like your current script, but only needs to contain the commands you use to copy over the files to your backup.

If you want to do it properly with launchd you could either modify your hack to handle signals properly, and then use the xpc_transaction_begin/end functions to let the system know that your program is doing useful work, and shutdown should be delayed until finished -- or alternatively use the event trigger functionality in launchd.

I would recommend you to try /etc/rc.shutdown.local first. It is deprecated, but as far as I remember still working.

A small warning is probably also a good idea for you. Remember that you are never guaranteed that your shutdown program will run. It is therefore not a good idea to keep stuff you don't want to loose in a RAM-disk like that. A single power outage and your data is lost. Instead use frequent data synchronisations or similar to ensure that data is periodically backed up to permanent storage.

Regarding your request whether a better approach exists - then the answer is "most likely, yes". The idea of copying a web folder to RAM disks seems a bit historic and dated. We have not information about what you're doing with that web folder, but if you're just serving web sites and want it to be fast by using a RAM-disk - that is the wrong approach. It is much better to use the built-in vfs caching functionality of macOS (similar to any other modern operating system, such as Linux).


Cannot complete resetting MacBook with Sierra - HD locked. How can I unlock it? MacBook with Sierra -
Disk utility erase completed OK -
Reinstall Sierra not possible HD is locked.
How can I unlock it?

Hold down Command, Option and R when startup chime sounds, choose Mac HDD then Reinstall OSX.


How do I delete a file that doesn't appear in finder I messed up and made the file name ... full name ....fbx. I don't really know why around the terminal. And after seeing How to move files to trash from command line? saying that rm "not permanently deleting files." How would I move it to trash or permanently delete it.

If a filename starts with a dot (.), it is hidden and will not show by default in Finder. You can show hidden files in Finder by running the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder

Then go back to the containing folder and delete the file normally.

If you don't want to keep the change regarding displaying hidden files in Finder, run

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO; killall Finder

afterwards.


Is the 120 FPS video recording's quality 720P? Is the quality the same as taking a normal video at 30 FPS ?

According to this lengthy review the recording is at 720p.

The specific recording details are:

H.264 codec
1280 x 720 resolution
Millions of colours
AAC, Mono Audio @ 44.100 kHz
120.15 FPS
29.72 mbits/s

This all matches the recording quality of a 'regular' iPhone video @ 30FPS, apart from the data rate which will vary from recording to recording.

Note that the iPhone can record 30 fps @ 1080p, according to the apple tech specs which means that the higher frame rate is at a lower resolution.


I am trying to run the iOS simulator I am trying to run the iOS simulator on my mac but I can't find it when i search in spotlight. I have Xcode 4.2 installed. I thought iOS simulator was bundled with Xcode.

Open your project in XCode. Click the Run button in the upper-left hand corner of the window.

Note that you can chose which iOS device to simulate as just to the right of that button.

If you would like just the iOS simulator, you can open XCode, create an iOS app from a template, run the app, then, with the simulator running, pin it to your dock.

The app itself appears to be in

/Applications/Xcode/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications/iOS Simulator


Exchange Time Capsule hard drive with PS4 Hard Drive is it from the data and values possible, to exchange the PS4 and Time Capsule's Hard Drive?
So built in the PS4 the Time Capsule hard drive and in the Time Capsule the PS4 Hard Drive.
Could anyone say me if it so possible and works fine?

It may be possible to put the PS4 drive in the Time Capsule but not vice versa, and not really recommended.

According to this support document from Sony, the PS4 uses a 2.5" hard drive.

According to iFixit guides such as this one for the pizza box model and this one for the newer vertical model the Apple Time Capsule uses 3.5" drives.

So, with an adapter, the Time Capsule drive could work in the PS4, but the PS4 drive won't fit in the Time Capsule.


Change default installation location to install xCode I want to install Xcode in my MacBook Air OSX 10.8.3. The issue is my MacBook Harddisk is just 64GB and it's almost full. I have an external HDD (Formatted to MAC partition) and how can I install Xcode to this HDD? Because when I am trying to install Xcode I am getting an error there is no sufficient memory available.

Thanks.

I recently moved my Xcode (4.6.2) from /Applications to /Users/daniel/Applications (I'm getting ready to slim down the main system partition to use an iSCSI target for my home folder, and want as much on it as possible).

The link in the comment by Buscar above isn't valid for new Xcodes that come through App Store. Instead, just move the app using Finder. You'll probably be asked to supply your credentials (due to admin permissions on some of the files inside Xcode.app).

You'll notice at first that Xcode starts up as if nothing happened. All seems to be well, but isn't quite, though — your Command Line Tools will be fudged. Other stuff that depend on it, like Homebrew, will fail unless you do this:

In Xcode, open Preferences and go to the "Locations" tab. The dropdown labeled "Command Line Tools" will be blank and there'll be a warning sign next to it.

Simply select the Xcode in that dropdown, and after once again supplying your credentials, all is well :) Even updates will perform as expected (I updated to 4.6.3 with no issues).


How can I download free apps without registering an Apple ID? "This Apple ID has not been yet been used before in the iTunes Store. Tap review to sign in, then review your account information."

I keep getting this message when I try to install free apps from App Store. I don't want to give my account info until I actually purchase something.

Can I not download free apps until I provide my account information? My email verification is complete. I'm using an iPhone 3GS logged in to my iTunes account.

This is by design. Apple requires you to set up an account even for free purchases (except podcasts).

In the past, you could set up a free account in iCloud and get away with not entering information, but now the security is getting beefed up.

You may be asked for three security questions and to re-verify your account periodically. The passwords are now more strict in needing a mix of case and numbers where you used to be able to choose a simpler password for your Apple ID.

There are cases where the device is not working properly and you keep getting this verification error, but in the case you describe it is now mandatory to enter more information when setting up your account initially.


Can I use iChat with MSN through its new XMPP/Jabber compatibility? The Windows Team blog announced XMPP compatibility with their MSN/Live IM network recently.

Have anyone tried to get iChat to work with MSN yet?
(I'm not looking for Jabber transports)

No, it is not implemented yet.

In the meanwhile, you can use Cocoon for MSN chat as an iChat extension.


Repair an exFAT drive on Mac OS X after it's been improperly disconnected Very often an exFAT external disk stops appearing in OS X. It doesn't appear in Disk Utility, Finder, diskutil list or About this Mac/System Report/USB.

The only way I have found to fix it is to boot into Windows and run the standard 'Scan disk for errors' function that pops up on connecting the drive. It never finds any errors. The disk then appears fine in OS X again.

Is there a way I can run this repair in OS X? It seems it is just a flag, possibly to indicate the drive was unplugged without first being ejected.

I've been having the same problem with my 128GB thumb drive. Turns out, it just takes a while (10-15m) for it to appear in Disk Utility, almost certainly on account of its size. Running First Aid after that gives me no errors (though it takes a similar amount of time to run). Try waiting longer next time, and avoid disconnecting the drive without ejecting first.


Lion Preview window stuck as always on top After accidentally pressing some wrong keys, it seems my Preview window is stuck in 'Always on Top' mode.  I can't figure out how to undo this.  Is anyone aware of what might have happened?

edit: Well I just closed the document and re-opened it, and it seems to be behaving normally now.  Still curious as to what happened though.

This happens to me in Lion as well, but only with big PDFs. Closing and reopening fixes it.


My MacBook Pro won't connect to my Wi-Fi My Wi-Fi router is provided by BT and works fine for my iPad and Mac mini. However, my MacBook Pro now won't connect to the router but will connect to the external BT hotspot.

When I try to log in it says invalid password. I've removed the router from the list via System Preferences → Network → Advanced but this has had no effect. I've tried adding " before and after the password—now I don't know what to do.

I think you need to scrap the existing Keychain.

Try this:

Go to Spotlight and type in "Keychain Access"
Search for your wireless network in the Keychain Access window
Delete any keys that appear here

Next, while you're at it, I'd recommend trashing your SysConfig folder. To do that:

Go to Finder
In the menu bar, click on Go > Go To Folder
Type in the following location:

/Library/Preferences/

Then scroll to the bottom and drag the SystemConfiguration folder to the trash

Then restart your computer. When it is finished restarting, try reconnecting to your WiFi and enter the password. Let me know if it still does not work!


Unable to ping any website through terminal and network utility I have internet connection and I can access every website. But when I try to ping any website ( be it www.google.com or www.stackoverflow.com or any site ) I always get Request timeout for icmp_seq 0 (I tried to ping and traceroute from terminal as well as network utility but faced the same issue). Moreover if I try to ping any website which is on VPN then I get correct response ( All packet transmitted and all received no loss )

I am on VPN and behind proxy too.

What can be the issue and how to fix it?

It's highly likely pings are blocked somewhere upstream from you.


Apple Battery Charger - does not charge to 100%? I have recently purchased the Apple Battery Charger and immediately charged the batteries that came with it. A few days later (3 or 4) I placed the batteries into my mouse and noticed that they only indicate about 75% full. Is this correct? Is the value being read wrong (they are actually 100% full) or do they not fully charge?

It’s hard to tell with this new product, that is really a normal battery charger. Rechargeable batteries should charge all the way to 100% especially when they are new. If you’re not getting a full charge, try depleting them all and fully charge them, see if that works. Otherwise, batteries may be defective or it could be a mouse/software misinterpretation.


Upgrade to Big Sur Beta 3 Broke Brew Build system Today I upgraded to Big Sur Beta3 and I cannot install anything with Brew. I get the error:
Error: Your Xcode (11.6) is too outdated.
Please update to Xcode 12.0 (or delete it).
Xcode can be updated from:
  https://developer.apple.com/download/more/

Error: Could not find an SDK that supports macOS 11.0.
You may have have an outdated or incompatible Xcode.
Homebrew found the following SDKs in the Xcode install:
  10.15

I can safely Ignore first error as I have tried everything I state here with XCode 12 Beta2 yielding the same results. The second one which is actually the issue I get seems to come from name changes that makes this Beta to be 11.0 instead of 10.16.
I have read blog post proposing setting special environment variable and I set as below but still does not work.
export SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1

Any pointer or help is appreciated

Same thing happened to me, you need to install the most recent Beta version of command line tools as well as the matching XCode 12 Beta. The same thing also happens with git and other things added by the download https://developer.apple.com/download/more/?=xcode


Where are the install logs for macOS bootable external installer With the more recent macOS installers, using createinstallmedia to make bootable installers is widespread practice now.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

When we take that drive to a Mac to erase it and install a clean OS - do the installer logs with any errors get saved to the external or internal disk or do we need to inspect/ save / send them to Apple before we quit the installer?

The macOS install log is always on the target drive in /var/log/install.log.


Is the screen dry or wet? I got caught in the rain yesterday, my iPhone 5 was in my pocket. Some water got into it. Here`s the picture, moisture is under screen surface:

Question is: which area is dry and which is wet? Dark one or light one?
I am asking, because the next day dark area increased in size to whole screen size. And now whole screen is dark. I wonder, is now my whole screen dry or is it wet.

I've once got water in a Dell (work)laptop and it started to get lighter and lighter the further water got. This is because the screen is built with multiple layers and you got water between them.

I would definately recommend you to shut down the device and put it in rice.


How do I see the location path of an application? I need to check the path to a program -- I want to point to the binary, not to the ".app" which is a directory. How do I do this?

Navigate to your Applications folder, right click on any app, choose Show Package Contents and navigate to Contents/MacOS/. Most of the times, the binary is named after the app so, if using the path on a script, you'll be mostly safe by using /Applications/(appname).app/Contents/MacOS/(appname), where (appname) is, well, the name of the app. If the app name has a whitespace in it, eg. Sublime Text, don't forget to put the path between double quotes (or escape it), in your script.


How do I get Terminal to remember previous commands after closing window in SL 10.6.8? Any way to enable scrollbacks after you quit the window? Even if the app itself is still running, closing the window and opening a new one doesn't work.

I am SURE it used to work on my old Mac, but I simply cannot find an option in preferences anywhere and Google is not my friend.

I had the same issue on my new Mac, when I checked the history file ~/.bash_history I discovered that it was owned by root. I run sudo chown username .bash_history, now when I reopen terminal my history is preserved.


How can I enable fingerprint authentication on a Mac? What compatible scanners are available? Do you know if there's a way to have fingerprint authentication on Mac? If so, is there any scanner compatible available?

Yes - you will want to start with the Smart Card services source code or compiled installer that Apple publishes and then pick whatever device you like that integrates to this infrastructure.

Here is Apple's starting point and a few more links that may help you in your search for a biometric authentication solution:

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10872
http://www.cac.mil/common-access-card/managing-your-cac/
https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/smartcard/owa/ShowPage?p=faqusers#fingerdeers
http://www.cacsecurity.com/biometrics.asp


Synchronize USB hard drive between Mac and PC I have a large (750GB) FAT32 formatted USB hard drive and two computers - a MacBook and a PC - and I want to keep synched and duplicate versions of my work folders (images, word documents, videos etc) on each device: the hard drive, Mac and PC.

To achieve this I imagine a folder synchronization software running on both Mac and PC (ideally the same software) which would sync selected folders between the computer and hard drive.

Does anyone know of such a piece of software?

Many thanks!

Yeah, it's new and it's call BitTorrent Sync, just came out of Alpha. It uses a 32 character code you create to create folder based sharepoints...on any computer on your network, without futzing with Preferences. Bittorent does all the work, and you essentially can create your own cloud at will, with any internal or external hdd's.


How save e-mail on Mac, while deleting on iPhone? I need to delete email after reading them on my iPhone, but do not want to delete them on my Mac, so I can file the emails later.

How to do this?

You can configure iPhone email account using POP3, and Mac email account using IMAP.

In this way you're able to delete email on the phone and preserve them on Mac.


How do I turn off the Front Row keyboard shortcut? I keep accidentally hitting Command+Esc and bringing up Front Row. How can I disable this shortcut?

Under Keyboard & Mouse on System Preferences there is a Keyboard Shortcuts tab.


How to display the VLC playlist and the main window simultaneously How can i handle to see the VLC playlist beside my main window?

Example: I have a bunch of movies which i created a playlist for. But on my 27" iMac, i don't want to see every movie in fullscreen. For that, i want to see my playlist beside my main window.

Is there a skin or a workaround to do this?

It is rather simple. The question is old but since I was just checking myself for the same problem and others might to.

Hit ⌘ + , to open VLC preferences.
Uncheck the Play video in main window option. In the interface tab the one that usually opens first.

Videos will spawn in a seperate window and the main holds the playlist.


Is it possible to migrate keyboard shortcuts for all my applications via an export? I have a bunch of keyboard shortcuts setup for Pages, Keynote, and several other programs. Is there a way to export and then import these shortcuts? I just reformatted my home computer and am now going through the painful process of re-creating all the shortcuts.

Paul Irish's dotfiles got me thinking about this: https://github.com/paulirish/dotfiles

It depends on how you have defined the shortcut keys. The files responsible for storing these preferences are in the usual place: ~/Library/Preferences

You could simply move the files that store the preferences over to the new Mac:

com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist
com.apple.universalaccess.plist
com.apple.iWork.Keynote.plist
com.apple.iWork.Pages.plist

If you were good at parsing JSON or XML, you could do the export to a text file as well using the plutil tool.


Keyboard maestro: Defining "if app active" macros In Keyboard Maestro, is there any way to define a macro that is triggered when two conditions are true?

A certain application is active (i.e. on focus)
A hot key is activated (i.e. I press a key)

I have tried adding conditions, but they are interpreted with an OR and not with an AND.

Below is an example of what I tried:

To define Keyboard Maestro macros only active in specific applications you need to define a new Macro Group (left most column in the Keyboard Maestro Editor) and select the application(s) on group level.


MacBook Air Wi-Fi is not working -- how can I troubleshoot the problem? I am trying to connect to Wi-Fi. It does get connected but there is no internet. I can't use Wi-Fi. Weird thing is that when I connect my iPad and iPhone to the same router/Wi-Fi they work perfectly fine. But my MacBook Air has some issue. How can I fix this problem?

My OS is 10.9.5.

Update

Wifi is working in safe mode.

It sounds like that your network settings are corrupt.

Reset your wifi settings
Another option could be to reset the network and wifi settings.

a) In Macintosh HD/ Library / Preferences / SystemConfiguration

com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

Move those files to the trash
Reboot your Mac
Reconnect to your wifi

b) Alternatively you can open SystemPreferences > Networks > select Wifi and delete it. In the second step re-add the wifi service again.

Upgrade to macOS
If possible try updating your Mac to the latest macOS version. Open the AppStore and download Mac Sierra.

Disable Third-Party Software
Do you use any kind of Firewall Apps e.g. Little Snitch. If so, temporarily disable them.


How does the lighting cable work plugged in any way round? Sorry titled this one badly, I'm assuming power is the two centre pins, then data is the rest, but surely it's messed up when the cable is plugged in backwards?

Per this site:

  Apple Lightning interface is adaptive - the controller chip dynamically assign pins function according to plugged device.

  The Apple Lightning connector plug can be inserted with either side
  facing up (the processor inside the plug detects the plug's
  orientation and routes the electrical signals to the correct pins).Two
  differential pair lanes (L0p/n and L1p/n) may swap in IC of device
  connector (lanes don't swap if accessory identification chip connect
  to ID0 pin).


Bulk update information in Photos.app? Is there a better way to update the photo metadata for pictures in the Photo.app rather than hitting "Get Info" on every single photo, such as weill a clever app or something? My goal is to add tags to my all of photos.

Get Info still works when selecting multiple photos (and only touches the fields you change so you won't accidentally overwrite stuff), and both shift and cmd do what you'd expect as far as selecting goes - same as iTunes basically. Plenty fast in my opinion.

For proper bulk library things (merging several massive libraries, etc) something like PowerPhotos is what you'd have to go with, though.


OSX Multiple isolated desktops The question is it possible to have X virtual desktops/screens on my OSX, which would be really isolated from each other? Maybe I've very specific use case :-) but I would like to have work desktop and for instance, home. And I don't want to be notified from one to another, I would like to control it by myself. I don't really need this overlapping. Or even further. I would like to have ProjectA, ProjectB etc... with different browsers, apps etc.. I understand that it's easier maybe to have X laptops :-) but it's quite expensive, to be honest. Therefore I'm looking the software related solution.

You can create a new user account. This will keep things separated.
When using your main "superuser" account you will have to remember to choose "install only for this user" rather than "install for all users" if you want some programs to be unavailable from your other accounts. Even if you "install for all users" this would just give your work user the ability to launch the program, like Chrome, but it would not see the history or bookmarks or extensions that you had installed as the home user.
The instructions vary slightly depending on which version of OS X you are using. In the Sierra dialog shown, you open System Preferences then Users and Groups (Accounts on previous versions) then unlock in the bottom left
then the plus sign to add a new user. Make them a regular account, not admin and they won't be able to see documents from other accounts. There - you have the separate desktops you wanted. To switch between desktops use AppleMenu - logout, then log back in as the next user. It's much faster than a shutdown or restart.  Enjoy separating your work desktop from your home desktop from your programming desktop using native OS X tools.

http://www.apple.com/us/search/new-user-account?src=serp


Speed reading on iPad I want to speed read on I pad. I have Kindle app and iBooks installed. In order to do that I need to split the screen by two vertical lines so as per image.

Is there any software I can use for that can split the screen like that?

Just draw the lines in the screen or use a screen protector and draw the lines with a marker. There are removable screen protectors so you can use it when you read and remove once you're done fast reading.


Can a Lenovo T430s with Thunderbolt use 2011 iMac in target display mode? I just purchased Lenovo T430s laptop with Thunderbolt and I'm wondering if I should be able to use my 27" 2011 iMac with Thunderbolt as an external display using target display mode.

So far, no luck.

What I've done:

I connected computers to each other with Apple's Thunderbolt cable.
I booted T430s and made sure that Thunderbolt is enabled in BIOS

What I found out:

iMac says that there's nothing connected to Thunderbolt
Pressing Command+F2 to enable target display mode does nothing
Windows 7 in T430s does not detect any additional displays and there's not a word about Thunderbolt anywhere in Windows.
Windows device manager is not showing any devices that are not functioning properly or missing drivers

Any help or ideas would be much appreciated.

Just got off the phone with Lenovo tech support after unboxing my T430s/i7 because it didn't have a Thunderbolt symbol on the back... just a DVI symbol. Confirmed: NONE of the 430's they're shipping even HAVE it yet. I'm sending mine back, suggest you do the same. The internet is saturated with references that they have it that all sound as though they are informed by press releases... and Lenovo chat even tells you they have it... but no joy. Technology never fails to disappoint.


Does my Macbook need "special" RAM? I want to upgrade the RAM on my Macbook Pro 4,1 A1260 (Early 2008).

Can I just use any RAM of the compatible "type", or does it need special magic RAM because it's a Macbook?

Also, is there any reason I simply must use two identical sticks of RAM rather than one from Company A and another from Company B?

No, your MacBook does not need any "special" RAM.
To see which kind of RAM is needed, visit this Apple Knowledge Base Article. It will show you how to replace your RAM and which one do you need.

Although it is not needed to use two identical sticks of RAM, it is recommended, if your sticks are supporting Dual Channel.


How many hours since I unplugged my Mac? Mobile phones usually say this as "xyz hours on battery" by counting the time from when they are unplugged from power.

Can I find out how many hours has it been since I unplugged my Mac from charging adapter?

On Mavericks take a look in the Activity Monitor's Energy sections bottom.


How to execute install.sh under Big Sur? I am quite a n00b on MacOS and it feels like it got worse with Big Sur.
I need to execute a .sh script to complete the setup of a 3d party app. The instructions say to "execute install.sh"
The first obstacle I found was that the file did't have the -x attribute set, so "sudo chmod +x ./install.sh" did that. Yet, when I do "sudo ./install.sh" it barfs "sudo: unable to execute ./install.sh: No such file or directory"
The file exists:
ls -l install.sh
-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 mbaas  staff  740 14 Feb 12:44 install.sh

What am I missing?
Additional details:

first line of script has the usual shebang:
#!/bin/sh

according to these instructions, the following shows the association of sh-files:

readlink /var/select/sh
/bin/bash

does that shell exist?

ls -l /bin/bash
-r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  1296640  1 Jan  2020 /bin/bash

ls -l /bin/sh
rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  120912  1 Jan  2020 /bin/sh

That's interesting:
ls -lOe@ install.sh
ls: install.sh : No such file or directory

I thought I may have been in the wrong directory, so just to verify:
ls -l install.sh
-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 mbaas  staff  757 14 Feb 18:08 install.sh

and finally: hexdump -Cv -n 32 install.sh

00000000  23 21 2f 62 69 6e 2f 73  68 0d 0a 73 65 74 20 2d  |#!/bin/sh..set -|
00000010  65 0d 0a 0d 0a 42 41 53  45 44 49 52 3d 24 28 64  |e....BASEDIR=$(d|
00000020

.sh files are what is known as "shell scripts". Basically, when you run a .sh file, you're not executing that file directly - instead the contents of the file is given to a specific program as instructions to follow. That specific program is named in the first line of the .sh file prefixed by #!.
The error message you see means that the program specified by that first line of the file does not exist (at the given location). Essentially the shell script is incorrectly made.
If you have knowledge about the purpose of the script, and how your system is setup, you might be able to use a texteditor to change the file line of the file to point to the correct program - otherwise I would contact the supplier of the program and ask for updated files and instructions.
UPDATE: You have updated your question with the first part of the contents of the shell script. This makes it clear that the problem is that the first line of the script ends not with a normal newline symbol (LF), but rather a Windows-style newline consisting of two symbols (CR LF).
You can fix the line feeds in the file by running this command in the same folder as the shell script using the Terminal:
perl -pi -e 's/\r\n|\n|\r/\n/g' install.sh


How do you create animated presentation in screencast Here is a snapshot of the screencast I was watching.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7468116/screencast.png

How do you create such animated presentation in a screencast. I know how to capture stuff I am doing on my computer as screencast but how do you build a dynamic presentations. What are the tools available for a mac user.

I've used ScreenFlow to do this a number of times.  It's very simple to use and worth the $100.  You can buy it off the website or from the Mac App Store.

Also, until 13 May 2011, you can buy it as part of the MacLegion bundle, which means you'd get it (plus a number of applications) for $50.  However, that will be a non-MacAppStore license: http://maclegion.com/


2015 Macbook Air screen gradually dimming and dying This is not a problem at booting up. For a couple months now I'll be using my laptop when suddenly the screen dims to about 50% of normal. According to the brightness indicator the brightness is all the way up; I can make it dimmer, but not as bright as normal. The dimming isn't super even either, there are small areas of the screen that seem darker/brighter. In the past the problem easily goes away if I close the lid and reopen it... but now it's happening a lot and sometimes going completely black. Is this an easy/cheap fix? I'm traveling and can't do it myself. Is it worth bringing to the Mac store?

Thanks!

...suddenly the screen dims to about 50% of normal...
  In the past the problem easily goes away if I close the lid and reopen
  it.

Your back light is failing and it is a known and common problem with the LVDS cable connector known as "flexgate" (micro rant:  I hate that every issue nowadays gets "-gate" added to the end a la Watergate)  This issue also manifests as the display going completely black when opened past a certain point.

Basically, as you open and close the lid, the strain on the cable causes it to wear and ultimately fail.  Unfortunately, you can't just replace the cable.  Since the entire display assembly is sealed, you will need to replace the whole item and it is quite expensive - $650+ USD.

If it's not addressed, the issue will continue to get worse until the display stays black permanently.

I would still take it into Apple and see if they'll help you out, but this is unlikely to be resolved without incurring some expense.