Is it possible to code a “reply” to Facebook Messages in Notification Centre in Maverick OS X? Is it possible to edit some code in Notification Center to allow Facebook messenger notifications to have a "Reply" or "Close" similar to iMessage?

No. As of 10.9.1, Apple has not added the ability to do so, and unfortunately, you're going to need to wait on Apple to do this natively.

I can, however, suggest an app that you can try. It's called Chat Heads and it works really well. It's available in the Mac App Store for free.

Here's the link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/chat-heads/id670724330?mt=12


How to move the Downloads folder (in Mountain Lion) to another disc I want the "Downloads" folder not on the system drive but on my second internal drive.

In Lion I just deleted the "Downloads" folder and replace it with an alias with the same name (pointing to the folder on the second drive ofc).

In ML I get ""Downloads" can't be modified or deleted because it's required by Mac OS X".

How to delete the folder? Can I change the permissions first to be able to delete it?
Any help much appreciated.

It is possible to do this from within the Terminal. Launch it from Applications → Utilities → Terminal.

Move the Downloads folder to your second drive, replacing Data (the name of my second drive) with whatever yours is called. You may be prompted for your OS X password.

sudo mv ~/Downloads /Volumes/Data/Downloads

(Optional) Create a symlink to allow you to access your new Downloads folder in the old location. Again, replace Data with the name of your second drive.

ln -s /Volumes/Data/Downloads ~/Downloads

This has just worked for me on OS X 10.8.1.


App store to forget programs on Iphone 6s Over the past few years, I have downloaded various apps onto my iPhone from the App Store. I have noticed that the App Store remembers the apps that I have downloaded. So, for instance: If I download an app and then delete it from my phone and go back into the App Store, the download icon is different (it doesn't say "+Get" like apps that I have never downloaded before, instead it will have an icon of a cloud with an arrow pointing downwards).

How to I get the App Store to forget these programs?

It's not entirely clear what you mean by "forget these programs", but you can choose to hide them.

To hide apps you can:

Open the App Store app
Tap on Updates > Purchased > My Purchases
Find the app that you want to hide
Swipe left on the app
Tap Hide


iMac is mysteriously unable to use WiFi that works for all other systems So, my house has Wifi that works pretty consistently with all of our computers, both macs and PC's. However, we just set up our iMac (which runs Snow Leopard) for the first time in a few months, and data just trickles in. It usually connects to the router, but if a page loads at all it will take at least a minute (which is obviously entirely useless). I've tried playing around with AirPort settings a little bit, but nothing has worked. I've also done a good deal of internet searching, but nothing particularly helpful has arisen. So, does anyone have any possible suggestions?

I should also mention that I brought it to the Genius Bar to have this dealt with. When I was there, however, the store internet worked fine. This was after the employee showed me how to clear the PRAM, so we figured that this was the issue and I left on my merry way. However, the problem was the same back at home, no matter how many times I reset the PRAM.

It's not unknown for there to be incompatibilities between two things that are supposedly using the same WiFi standards especially since so many manufacturers departed from or anticipated the standards bodies in producing MIMO, draft-N (or even draft-G devices if you're dealing with something completely ancient). Is there an update available for your device?

What you didn't say was what kind of access point you have in the house and what kind of wireless radios are in the PCs that work. You mentioned Airport but you might have meant the WiFi settings on the menu bar, or if you did mean it is an Apple Airport then it might be an original graphite UFO, a white UFO, an Express or an Extreme. I switched to a current model Airport Extreme (square) in the past year and found speeds and signal strength far better than my previous white UFO Airport Extreme.

Another thing to look at is what channel the AP is on. Are there any other access points visible from your house? You might be suffering from collision with a nearby radio and switching the channel in use in your house could help. This old blog fro New Zealand has a good illustration of how various channels overlap, so switching might be worth a try, even if the diagram doesn't seem to suggest you have a conflict.

Finally - can you just try moving the AP or the machine to see if things improve? It might look like there aren't any wireless obstacles between the AP and your machine, but you might find a thin wall houses a whole lot of copper pipes or foil insulation, and can be a fairly effective wireless shield.


Install Older Versions of Java on OSX 10.8.1 I have a MacBook Pro Retina, running 10.8.1 and Java 1.6.0_35

I need to install some older versions of Java in order to track some bugs that my customers are seeing on older versions of Java.

I tried finding installers for older versions of Java from the Apple Developer Network, but none of them will install on Mountain Lion.

Where can I find installers for older versions of Java?  Specifically, 1.6.0_07 and 1.5.0_xx that will run on OSX Mountain Lion?

You simply cannot get arbitrary Java versions for the Mac.  Apple provides their own Java binaries and does not provide every single Java release.  Also, those old versions have known security problems with active exploits in the wild, so it's dangerous to use them on a desktop system.

My best recommendation would be to create a Linux VM using VMware Fusion and install the old versions either from the Linux package installer or using packages downloaded from Oracle.


Can't get rid of twitter from iOS7 lock screen Since upgrading to iOS7 on my iPhone the lock screen is bombarded with Tweets. I want to turn this off as I am sure it kills the battery and is annoying. I turned off twitter in the notification center but it had no effect.

How can I turn this off?

You will have to disable notifications for the specific client that you are using by going to Settings → Notification Center and tapping on your Twitter client, then disabling Show on Lock Screen.

If you are using the official Twitter app, you can change notification settings by opening the app and going to Me → Settings button → Settings → Notifications.


My laptop (Yosemite) is now 'PPPoE' connected over wifi, what is this and what does it mean? My laptop (Yosemite) is now 'PPPoE' connected over wifi, what is this and what does it mean?

Previously I was just connected by wifi (there was no mention of wifi)
My AirPort base station connects to my cable-modem via PPPoE (using an ethernet cable)

Should I be worried? It seems to have happened since Yosemite.

Everything seems to be working fine, but I noticed this when I was recently tightening security on my AirPort.

Edit: given comments that only the router needs PPPoE, I'm concerned PPPoE is being used to bypass the protections of my Router (AirPort).

Some screenshots:

It was probably there before Yosemite but you did not see it.

Usually when your Internet service provider requires it it will be used.

  PPPoE stands for Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. PPPoE has
  become a favorite technology of broadband Internet service providers,
  who use it to save time and money. DSL and cable modem subscribers, on
  the other hand, have reason to be less enthusiastic about PPPoE.

PPPoE Client Overview

  PPPoE combines two widely accepted standards, Ethernet and PPP, to
  provide an authenticated method of assigning IP addresses to client
  systems. PPPoE clients are typically personal computers connected to
  an ISP over a remote broadband connection, such as DSL or cable
  service. ISPs deploy PPPoE because it supports high-speed broadband
  access using their existing remote access infrastructure and because
  it is easier for customers to use.

  PPPoE provides a standard method of employing the authentication
  methods of the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) over an Ethernet network.
  When used by ISPs, PPPoE allows authenticated assignment of IP
  addresses. In this type of implementation, the PPPoE client and server
  are interconnected by Layer 2 bridging protocols running over a DSL or
  other broadband connection.

You can set up a new PPPoE or check the current set up.


iPad 2 running iOS 7 with Blue Yeti Mic I intend to buy a Blue Yeti microphone later today. I've been reading that you need two things for the yeti to work with GarageBand on iPad: the Apple Camera Connection kit (obvious really) and also a powered USB hub to avoid the 'device drawing too much power error.' I was wondering if this problem has been fixed with iOS 7 or not; do I Still need the USB Hub?

So, in short, my question is: Will I need to buy a powered USB hub to connect the Blue Yeti, or can I go straight through CCK without a hub?

Edit: Another question, will there be ANY sort of recording latency using this method or the Blue Spark Digital which is the other microphone I intend to look at. It's very important there is NO lag or latency when recording into the iPad

Probably too late but for anyone else who may look for info on this:

I have used the Blue 'Yeti' to do quite a lot of recording into Garage Band on an iPad2.
  don't know anything about the other mic you mention but the Yeti is great for that price range in my experience.

I used a Belkin powered USB hub (+CC kit)as a work around successfully until one of the recent iPad updates (I haven't used the mic for awhile til recently so not sure which update), but now it doesn't work anymore.

the message "device draws to much power" or something, remains and the mic doesn't work...

didn't think to try without the hub in the chain..


Most iPhone 4S photos import into iPhoto 11 as all black images Strange problem: when I import photos from my iPhone 4S (5.0.1) into iPhoto 11 (latest), MOST of the images show as all black.  Strangely, almost all landscape photos are imported/displayed ok, however every portrait shot shows as black.

If I reveal in finder, the modified files that iPhoto creates are 162kb black jpgs, however the original files are the correct photos.

I've rebuilt my iPhoto '11 library, to no avail.  After reimporting, portrait images are still black.  For some reason, iPhoto is changing/corrupting the 'modified' versions of the photos upon import.

Thinking this is a bug either in iPhoto or relating to the iPhone 4S (this never happened with the 4...)

FWIW It's being discussed in the Apple Support forums here.

I also tried importing the photos via Image Capture then into iPhoto, and same result.  So it's an issue with how iPhoto processes (modifies) the photos into it's library.

I believe this issue only seems to affect iOS5 users...

As forbca said in his/her answer in the support thread you linked to, the issue seems to be resolved if you reboot.

I had the same issue. After a reboot, I'm able to import the photos correctly into iPhoto. Just grab the originals and re-import them in iPhoto. You'll be asked about duplicates – import the portrait photos anyway.

It seems to be a bug in an iPhoto update that only turns up if you haven't rebooted since the update. The corrupted imports were done on a laptop that had over 30 days of uptime.


What can you use the iPod 4th generation bluetooth for? I am wondering what I can use the bluetooth capability in the iPod touch fourth generation for? I tried to pair it to a Motorola headset, but I was not able to pair it.

Jailbreaking is not an option for me. :)

The iPod touch 4th gen should allow you to do the following:

iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Supported Bluetooth profiles

With A2DP:
This profile defines how high quality audio (stereo or mono) can be streamed from one device to another over a Bluetooth connection. For example, music can be streamed from a mobile phone, to a wireless headset, hearing aid & cochlear implant streamer, or car audio or from a laptop/desktop to a wireless headset.

With AVRCP:
This profile is designed to provide a standard interface to control TVs, Hi-fi equipment, etc. to allow a single remote control (or other device) to control all of the A/V equipment to which a user has access. It may be used in concert with A2DP or VDP.

With PAN:
This profile is intended to allow the use of Bluetooth Network Encapsulation Protocol on Layer 3 protocols for transport over a Bluetooth link.

With HID:
Provides support for devices such as mice, joysticks, keyboards, as well as sometimes providing support for simple buttons and indicators on other types of devices. It is designed to provide a low latency link, with low power requirements. PlayStation 3 controllers and Wii Remotes also use Bluetooth HID.

-From Wikipedia

If you are having problems pairing, try out iPhone and iPod touch: Third-party headsets, headphones, and car kits


Am I asking too much of my MacBooks performance? Will El Capitan help? This is my MacBooks configuration:

I'm usually running the following Software:
Chrome, Skype, Outlook, Android Studio, Safari, Terminal, AppCode, Xcode, Xcode Simulator, Firefox.

Also apart from the built in monitor I have 2 additional monitors hooked up.

I realize this is a lot.
I'm using up 6.6GB of RAM.
The CPU is 8.6% System, 4.45% User and the rest is idle.
(At least while I'm on here typing stuff. It obviously changes once I compile something etc.)

The thing that annoys me is that all the fancy OS stuff doesn't work smooth. i.e switching between desktops, mission control, launch pad, peeking to desktop. The animations stutter a lot. Like a video game you're running on too slow hardware.

I'm guessing I'm just doing too much at once (if you think this should still work properly please share ideas on what I could investigate).
Do you think a faster MacBook would help significantly? What may be my bottle neck here?
Do you think El Capitan will improve on this? They said at least that El Capitan optimizes a lot under the hood.

For now, try "Reduce transparency" in in System Preferences → Accessibility → Display.

El Capitan brings improvements to System Performance:

  OS X El Capitan improves system performance across your Mac, making
  many of the things you do everyday faster and more responsive. Metal,
  Apple’s groundbreaking graphics technology, accelerates Core Animation
  and Core Graphics to boost system-level rendering by up to 50
  percent,* and efficiency by up to 40 percent,** resulting in faster
  graphics performance for everyday apps. Metal also takes full
  advantage of your CPU and GPU, delivering up to 10 times faster draw
  call performance for a richer, more fluid experience in games and pro
  apps.

Apple announced that Metal support in OS X extends to all Macs built since 2012:

  MacBook 12-inch (Early 2015)
  MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2012 and later)
  MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2012 and later)
  MacBook Pro 13-inch (Mid 2012)
  MacBook Pro 13-inch Retina (Late 2012 and later)
  MacBook Pro 15-inch (Mid 2012)
  MacBook Pro 15-inch Retina (Mid 2012 and later)
  Mac mini (late 2012 and later)
  iMac 21.5-inch (Late 2012 and later)
  iMac 27-inch (late 2012 and later)
  iMac Retina 5K, 27-inch (late 2013 and later)
  Mac Pro (Mid 2012)
  Mac Pro (Late 2013)

If reduce transparency doesn't help today, I say wait for El Cap and try again.


I have a movie that no longer plays on iTunes or my iPad A couple of years ago, I downloaded the movie Sita Sings the Blues, put it on iTunes on my Mac and on my iPad.    A few months ago, I got errors synchronizing my iTunes with my iPad and traced it down to this movie.   I deleted it from my iPad and went to http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/ and downloaded it in the various versions available.

Download versions are:

All downloadable formats at Archive.org
1080p (HD) (4GB QuickTime H.264 .mp4)
720p (HD) (3GB Qucktime H.264 .mp4)
480p (SD) (1GB QuickTime H.264 .mp4)
640x360 700MB XviD download (burnable to CD-R/RW)

Trying to load these onto iTunes locked up iTunes.   I can play this movie with various apps on my Mac, and convert them into .mov, .avi & mv4.   But dragging any version to iTunes gets me the beach ball and I have to force quit iTunes.

My iTunes/iPad have other movies (.mov, .mp4, & m4v) that work fine.

Any suggestions on what my next step should be?

Can you upload it to iCloud Drive? You might be able to then try playing on the iPad directly without having to go through iTunes. If you have VLC on your iPad it should be able to play almost any file that you throw at it.


What speed does the A4 in the iPhone 4 run at? Apple made a big deal about the iPad's A4 running at 1GHz, but they've never said how fast the iPhone 4's processor is. In the teardown, iFixit mentions that the iPhone 4 uses an A4 but never gives a clock speed. Has anyone been able to find out how fast it actually is?

According to MacRumors and some German source the iPhone 4 is somewhat slower than the iPad, but still significantly faster than the iPhone 3GS. I guess that its A4 CPU is clocked at about 750 - 850 MHz.


Does the iPhone's passcode protect the SIM? So my iPhone was just stolen. I have a long - 8 digit - pin. I'm also on the beta version of iOS 7. I think I have Find my iPhone installed and enabled.

It's apparently "offline" - it's standard practice to turn a phone off straight after stealing it, according to the police. I gave the police my Apple logon details, and I'm hoping the crims are dumb enough to turn it back on at some point.

I don't know whether I need to or should cancel my SIM. I'm sure they won't be able to get in to the phone for a while, at least until iOS 7 is publicly cracked. My concern is them taking out the SIM and racking up a phone bill. I'm on Tesco Mobile so the contract is cheap, but overages and non-UK-geographic calls are a bitch.

Is my SIM in any way protected?

If you did not use a dedicated SIM-Pin then your SIM is not protected.

In other words, if you lose your iPhone someone can easily take the SIM card out of the iPhone and use it it in a different phone.

The iPhone PIN only protects the contents of the iPhone NOT the SIM card.
You have to use a SIM pin to protect the SIM card, it's available in the iPhone settings.

So if you lost an unlocked/unprotected SIM card, you should immediately call your provider and cancel the SIM card. They can send you a new one.


Test a list of passwords on Sparse Image I have a sparse image file with some important data in it I would like to retrieve. The only problem is I've forgotten the password.

I have a good idea of the parts of the password and managed to generate a 3000 line file with a list of possible passwords.

I would like to know how I can test these against my image. A few years ago, I had found a handy open source app with a simple GUI which did this, but I can't seem to find it. Maybe someone knows what app I'm talking about. Otherwise, if anyone knows an other method to do this (perhaps with automator), it would be great.

Thanks

The hdiutil command combined with a bit of bash scripting can accomplish what you're looking for. You'll need a plain text file with each password on a separate line, ending with a blank line.

Copy and paste this into a text file:

#!/bin/bash

while read line
do
    echo -n "$line" | hdiutil attach -quiet -stdinpass "$1"
    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "Password is $line"
        break
    fi
done < "$2"

Save it and make it executable by running chmod +x /path/to/scriptfile in Terminal.
In Terminal, run /path/to/scriptfile /path/to/image.dmg /path/to/passwords.txt.

It will run until it successfully mounts the disk image, and will output the password that worked. In my tests, it took 1.3-1.6 seconds per password, so 3000 passwords may take around an hour, depending on your system (although it could be sooner depending on where the password is in the file).

That should do the trick. If you're curious how and why it works, read on.

Explanation

While loop

    while read line
    do
    […]
    done < "$2"

This loops over each line in the password file (which is fed in via the < "$2" part) and executes  the stuff between do and done each time it loops. $2 is a special variable in Bash that represents the second argument passed to the script (i.e. if you ran ./foo bar blah, $2 would be blah). It's enclosed in quotes in case there are any spaces or other characters in the name that could cause problems for Bash.

Mounting the image

hdiutil attach -quiet -stdinpass "$1"`

This is the command to actually mount the disk image (which we get from the command line arguments via the $1 variable, just like the password file). The -quiet flag means don't print any output (just to keep things tidy), and -stdinpass means get the password from the command line, not the usual OS X password dialog.

echo -n "$line"

The echo command simply repeats the input it's given, which in this case is an individual line from the password file, from the $line variable (which is again quoted in case the passwords contain special characters). The -n flag is the final piece of this puzzle, it prevents echo from repeating the newline character, which would be included in the password (and thus prevent even the correct password from working).

We use echo with a "pipe" (|) to send hdiutil the password. A pipe sends the output of the preceding command (echo) to the command after the pipe (hdiutil). This way rather than asking us for the password, hdiutil simply takes the text we read from the file.

Checking if the password was successful

if [ $? -eq 0 ]

This checks if the previous command was successful, by checking its exit code. The $? is another special variable that stores the exit code of the previous operation.

If the exit code is 0 (no errors), then we know that the password worked, and the if statement runs these lines:

    echo "Password is $line"
    break

This displays a simple message telling the user what the successful password is, then the break command exits the while loop and ends the program. We do this because the script would otherwise continue until it's checked every password in the file.

Combining all these pieces together gives you a convenient way of automating an otherwise long and painful task.


Why does my Xserve simply eject Linux install CDs instead of reading / booting from them? I have an Xserve G4, dual 1.33 GHz processors, 2 GB of RAM, 1 CD-ROM drive, 2 internal Hard Drives (read: Nowhere really to back them up to). I also have 1 EXTERNAL Hard Drive, Firewire, but just like the internal drives, I can't reformat with any sort of ease, too much data.

Now for the problem: I am trying to install Linux, specifically Gentoo or ArchLinux, for a multitude of reasons spanning from: wanting to get away from dependancy on Mac OS, to not liking the performance of old versions of Mac OS X in a modern (internet) age. I have Live CDs for Ubuntu 8, and the latest Gentoo Minimal Install PPC disk. I can not, however, get the computer to accept the CDs. About 20 seconds after inserting the CD to the body of the Xserve, it comes right back out. These are 700 MB CDs, with 680 MB and 140 MB of data on them, respectively. The burns had no errors, I have the console reports handy if they are requested.

Possible solutions/diagnoses I have come up with, but can't act on without advice on how to:

The CD drive is defective? (How do I test this?)
Boot to one of my 2 spare (10 GB each) hard drive partitions on my HFS drive, no success on that front so far.
Would using an external CD Drive work for boot-from-CD? I have one that connects using FireWire

Oh, just a note, my goal is to use mac-fdisk once I get within a Linux environment to see about resizing my hard drive, or I'll just backup the main drive's non-standard data to the external, and restore using the disk-image of 10.4 Server I have. Would mac-fdisk actually be able to resize, or is that just parted?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Make sure the security lock on the front panel of the Xserve is not engaged. If the server is locked (using an allen key) it will simply refuse to accept any disk in the slot load and eject it, assuming you are trying to insert a 'malicious' disk when the sysadmin has protected it.


Disk structure error reported in Onyx but not fixable via the Disk Utility in Recovery Mode On Yosemite 10.10 Onyx returns the following error:

  Error: -69845: File system verify or repair failed Underlying error:
  8: POSIX reports: Exec format error
  The disk needs to be repaired.

I tried repairing the disk in recovery mode but the disk utility returns a message that everything is fine, however, the after running Onyx the second time the error persists.

On a related matter, the option to repair permissions is not available in the Disk Utility.

Disk Utility will not fix every conceivable disk corruption issue. For that you need third-party apps. I use Diskwarrior and have also had success with Drive Genius.

However there is one way to do this without buying a disk repair utility. Back up your hard drive, partition/reformat it, reinstall the OS and restore your backup. Yeah it's more complicated and a bit of a PITA but will save you money.


Is there any way to crack a password-protected disk image? I have created a .dmg file with password. Unfortunately I forgot the password and I my Google searches have not resulted in a way to reset the password of this .dmg file.

Please help me find a solution. I desperately need to access the contents of this .dmg file.

An article written by someone else who did that:

http://blog.whitehatsec.com/cracking-aes-256-dmgs-and-epic-self-pwnage/

The author did get his cracked, but had to borrow a supercomputer to do so even after he got custom software designed to use partial knowledge of the password he had chosen.

It shows how hard a general cracking effort would be, but also how choosing a short or known pass phrase makes it practical in some cases to hire an expert to bypass even a good solid encryption scheme.


Convert a partition from case-sensitive to case-insensitive I have installed snow leopard on a macbook ans selected case-sensitive file system when partitioning the disk, presuming that it's a standard thing and I'd rather have this system behaving as close as possible to *nix shell.

Although when trying to install Photoshop CS5 recently I got an error message saying that case-sensitive file system cannot be used for installation. Apparently reason is some issues in Apple installer system, which Adobe developers cannot find their way around.

So it looks like I will have to convert the case-sensitive FS to a case-insensitive one.

Are there any tools capable of doing that? Doesn't have to run under macos, anything will do, really (bootable CDs etc)

iPartition claims to be able to do this, although I haven't tried it (and it costs money).


Can I install Mac OS X Lion (10.7) on my Windows XP PC? I am using Windows XP, now I want to install Mac OS X Lion (10.7). My problem is I want both operating systems. Is it possible? Will it be possible to use Mac OS X Lion (10.7) and XP simultaneously?

Questions that detail how to actually installation of OS X on non-Apple hardware are off topic due to the violation of the Apple EULA, but let's see if we can have a good general discussion of the issues and assume everyone is here to learn where the virtualization issues lie.

Using non-Apple hardware

Your only option is a hackint0sh.

Using a Mac computer

If you were using a Mac computer, you can use both operating systems:

simultaneously:

OS X (host), XP (virtual machine)
dual boot via bootcamp:

OS X, XP ← this will allow XP full access to the hardware

Note:

Bootcamp in Lion does not support Windows XP. (Thanks to @DanBarrett for mentioning this)

It only supports:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, or Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate with Boot Camp 4.0. Check this list for information on 64-bit support.


How can I query the hardware UUID of a Mac programmatically from a command line? The hardware universally unique identifier (UUID) can often be used by developers to associate information unique to a Mac. This identifier will usually persist through OS upgrades or reinstalls, as well as across multiple OSes in multi-boot installations. I would like to be able to retrieve the UUID via a command line in macOS in order to use with a script.

The ioreg command can be used for this task.

ioreg -d2 -c IOPlatformExpertDevice | awk -F\" '/IOPlatformUUID/{print $(NF-1)}'

Similarly, you can get the same information in a Property List (plist/xml) format by including the -a option which is useful for implementations that work with XML better. One command line example would be to use xmllint --xpath

ioreg -ad2 -c IOPlatformExpertDevice |
  xmllint --xpath '//key[.="IOPlatformUUID"]/following-sibling::*[1]/text()' -

I often see the system_profiler command used for this task, however, I have found the ioreg method to be slightly faster if performance is a concern.

time system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/UUID/ { print $NF }'

real    0m0.295s
user    0m0.110s
sys     0m0.074s

time ioreg -d2 -c IOPlatformExpertDevice | awk -F\" '/IOPlatformUUID/{print $(NF-1)}'

real    0m0.029s
user    0m0.005s
sys     0m0.004s


transfering iphone data to another computer I have a laptop and want to give it to my sis after I bought a mac mini. Now how can I let my iphone sync with the mac mini for the following data: (I think this applies to any 2 computers)

music not bought on iTunes: copy the folders to the new computer and then sync the iphone with the folder on the new computer. (This seems the best solution, right?)
photos: the same as music.
Apps: I can re-download all the apps (free or bought) on the new computer and sync from the scratch, BUT:
Apps Data: I found no solution so far!!!!

Apple has an article called iPhone and iPod touch: About backups that has information about what and where iTunes stores things. These folders are portable and you can move them from mac to mac, PC to mac. I have had no issues when using different versions of iTunes - especially if the "receiving" computer is as new or newer than the "sending" computer. If you can update both before the transfer, that would probably be ideal.

iTunes places the backup files in the following places:

Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

After the transfer completes, the backups should show up in iTunes and you can restore your phone form it. Do read the article iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer if you are not certain


Increase text size on iOS Safari On macOS, it is possible to increase the text size of a webpage using the ⌘+ or ⌘- gestures. This even works on Chrome on macOS, as well as many other browsers. Is it possible to do something like this on iOS Safari, or iOS in general?

New Answer: Base on this and this

Bookmark this page
Navigate to your bookmarks and edit the bookmark added in Step 1
Change the name to "Increase Text Size"
Replace the URL with the code labeled "Increase Text Size" below
Repeat steps 1-3, but change the name to "Decrease Text Size"
Repeat step 4 but with the code labeled "Decrease Text Size" below

Increase Text Size: javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds+=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D

Decrease Text Size
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Old Answer:

From this article

  Here’s how you can use Reader in Safari for iPhone or iPad to increase
  text size of web pages:

  Open Safari and go to any webpage with a lot of text, like an article or news piece
  From any Safari browser window in iOS, hit the “Reader” button in the URL link bar to enter into Reader View – the Reader button looks
  like a series of lines atop one another
  Once in Reader Mode, tap on the “aA” icon in the corner of the screen
  Now tap the larger “A” button on the right side of the popup menu to increase text size
  Tap the “A” button repeatedly to dramatically increase the font size of web pages in Safari Reader mode

Although this does not change the text size, you can pinch and zoom.

Lastly, you can change the font size. Although this will not help with Safari it will increase text size in other apps.


Why my Mac Mini doesn't boot with external HDD attached? Ext HDD is 3,5" 4TB WD RED (exFAT) in USB 2.0 box with external power supply (220v)

When I restart my Mac Mini (late 2012, MacOS 10.14) in 90% the boot will end on black screen (no apple loading logo, no progress bar). When I turn off or disconnect my ext HDD (exFAT), or reset PRAM then the system will boot perfectly. Then I can reconnect my extHDD and everything will work (till next restart).

Assuming you have not installed a third party dual boot loader such as rEFInd, go into the System Preferences and select the internal HD as the "Startup Disk." If you have installed a third party boot loader it may be damaged or you may need to uninstall. If you don't know what a third party boot loader is; you probably don't have it.


How to disable any and all eye-candy features on Mac OS X 10.6.8? I'm going to install Linux Mint virtual machine and work primarily through there.

I want to shut off any and all eye candy on Mac to squeeze out every last bit of performance I can. Akin to "Set for best performance" setting on Windows 7.

  Turn off visual effects

  If Windows is running slowly, you can speed it up by disabling some of
  its visual effects. It comes down to appearance versus performance.
  Would you rather have Windows run faster or look prettier? If your PC
  is fast enough, you don't have to make this tradeoff, but if your
  computer is just barely powerful enough for Windows 7, it can be
  useful to scale back on the visual bells and whistles.

  You can choose which visual effects to turn off, one by one, or you
  can let Windows choose for you. There are 20 visual effects you can
  control, such as the transparent glass look, the way menus open or
  close, and whether shadows are displayed.

  To adjust all visual effects for best performance:

  Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button ,
  and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type Performance
  Information and Tools, and then, in the list of results, click
  Performance Information and Tools.

  Click Adjust visual effects.   If you're prompted for an administrator
  password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

  Click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and
  then click OK. (For a less drastic option, select Let Windows choose
  what’s best for my computer.)

How can I do something similar on Mac OS X 10.6.8?

You can use applications such as Onyx or Tinkertool to minimize the amount of effects that are displayed on OS X. OS X does not have a built in function to disable graphics like Windows does.


Unable to import iPhoto 11 Library in OS X Lion I have an iPhoto 11 Library on an old Macbook Pro.

I just received a new Macbook Pro with a clean copy of iPhoto 11

I put my iPhoto Library into Dropbox and synced

When I try to import my iPhoto Library on my OS X Lion MacBook Pro I am unable to select the iPhoto Library because it is greyed out.

How can I import it?

Ctrl click the iPhoto lib and select Show Package contents, go to Originals and pull the photos out of the lib and import.


Will restoring from Time Machine carry over hard disk error? The Disk Utility detects some hard disk errors(inode problem, size mismatch). I am going to upgrade to a new hard drive and use Time Machine to restore the system, but I am worried that these existing hard disk errors may get copied over to the new hard drive. Does anyone know whether Time Machine restore will inherit these errors?Or will it be smart enough to restore the files cleanly to the new hard drive?

The only way filesystem errors like those you describe could be copied onto a different disk (e.g. your Time Machine volume) is if the whole disk partition or whole drive were copied at the block level using dd or something like Carbon Copy Cloner.  Time Machine doesn't work that way, so its stored backups should be free from the filesystem errors and the files it restores should be free from them as well.


No More Vocals Instruments in GarageBand '11? I'm trying to change my voice on Skype using this tutorial http://www.erzsabet.com/mySLSound.html, which I got working with GarageBand '09. However, I just bought GarageBand '11, and there doesn't seem to be any vocals software instrument. Where can I find them, please?

There are Vocal Effects in Garageband. Open Garageband and create a voice project:

Then go to the Info pane in the bottom right hand corner:

Under Real Instrument>Vocals, you will find all the effects you were looking for.


open multiple files in one emacs window I can open a file in emacs with this command:

open -a Emacs main.cpp

But when I apply the same command to multiple files

open -a Emacs main.cpp test.cpp

two emacs windows will appear. I would like to open them
in the same emacs window, is this possible?

Instead of starting Emacs with open you can use emacsclient to send files to an already running Emacs. For this to work you need to start the corresponding server inside emacs by including

(server-start)

in your emacs init file.


Should I create a Fusion Drive before or after downgrade (from Yosemite to Mavericks)? I bought a used Mac Mini late 2012 with installed Yosemite and two drives: SSD 128 GB and HDD 500 GB. I want to create a Fusion Drive and downgrade to Mavericks via bootable USB flash drive. What should I do in which order?
1) Boot into recovery HD and create a Fusion  Drive (erasing all data)
2) Install Mavericks on SSD part of Fuzion Drive?

But if I already have a Fusion Drive how do I choose explicitely that I want OS to be installed on SSD not HDD for performance boost?

Your first idea is the only way that it can be done.

Boot into recovery HD and create a Fusion Drive (erasing all data)
Install Mavericks on SSD part of Fusion Drive

A Fusion drive is for all intents and purposes a single drive, the OS sees only one Volume. The promise of a Fusion drive is that it will optimize the contents in such a way that you will receive the highest performance possible while having a large volume to store your data in.


Processor affinity on mac. In Linux machines, there is a command called taskset, which can be used to do the processor affinity.

In mac(from mavericks) are there any commands to the same job like taskset?

Else how one can achieve processor affinity on mac?

Thanks in advance.

Apple provides a Thread Affinity API, but nothing like taskset.

  OS X does not export interfaces that identify processors or control thread placement—explicit thread to processor binding is not supported. Instead, the kernel manages all thread placement.  Applications expect that the scheduler will, under most circumstances, run its threads using a good processor placement with respect to cache affinity.


On login, I am only given the Guest user option. How do I log into my account? I tried to add a guest account to my laptop and when I restarted the computer, the only login option I have is the Guest Account.  Choosing this account restarts the computer into the Safari-only configuration.  There is no Systems Preferences available in this mode.

I did not unchoose my administrator account.  How did this happen?  And how do I get it back?

I think safe mode would work better. Here are the instructions, from the Apple Support website

  To start up into Safe Mode (to Safe Boot), do this:

  Be sure your Mac is shut down.
  Press the power button.
  Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup
  tone, but not before the tone.
  Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the
  progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).

Once your in, go to System Preferences and disable Find My Mac (iCloud settings) and Guest User (Users and Groups). Reboot. You should be able to login normally. If you would still like a guest user, just go back and enable Find My Mac.


Delete / Uninstall iTunes on macOS High Sierra (v10.13) How can I remove iTunes from my Mac?

I've tried to delete it via Terminal and using the app AppCleaner. No luck.

cd /Applications/
sudo rm -rf iTunes.app/

Results in: Operation not permitted

I also tried to change iTunes.app to "Read Write" for everyone but macOS won't allow me to do that even as root.

I'm pretty sure you have to disable SIP to uninstall pre-installed apps.

  System Integrity Protection is a security technology in OS X El Capitan and later that's designed to help prevent potentially malicious software from modifying protected files and folders on your Mac. System Integrity protection restricts the root user account and limits the actions that the root user can perform on protected parts of the Mac operating system.

  System Integrity Protection includes protection for these parts of the
  system:

  • Apps that are pre-installed with OS X


iPhone/iPad lock screen as a digital message board I use my iPhone/iPad screens as digital message board. A bit like digital message boards you might see in airports, doctors waiting rooms or train stations.

My current strategy is to open a photo editing app on my iPhone, write a message, save a jpeg in the photos app, sync the photo across my iPhone/iPad and then assign the photo as wallpaper for the lock screen.

But I'm wondering if there is an app which I can display messages as wallpaper in the lock screen and sync across iOS devices?

Currently, apps cannot change the wallpaper as you describe. I do not believe it's possible for wallpaper to be synced between devices, either. (You can sync the photos being used, but I don't believe you can sync the choice of wallpaper.)


Would an iPhone delete text messages by itself? Would an iPhone 3G delete text messages by itself? I have lost some text messages and don't know where to find them! Thanks.

Are you able to see the SMS in spotlight? Worst case would be that the phone was unlocked while in your pocket and somehow (through the miracle of entropy) messages got deleted.

Otherwise the phone might be running out of space as to my knowledge there is a limit to 250,000 messages that can be stored on the phone (regardless of which GB model you have), what would supersede that message limit is if you have very little space left on your phone. By default the iPhone OS will make sure that it has space for temporary data and caches over SMS messages.


If I log onto someone else’s WiFi on my computer, would they be able to see my personal files? If I was at someone’s house and I log into WiFi using their email and password, could they see what is on my computer?

Normally they can not look inside your computer.

Just to make sure that is the case,

open system preferences > sharing

and make sure all items are disabled.


Why are some shortcuts modified with the Shift key while others are modified with the Option key? I have used Windows for all of my life. In Windows, shortcuts are (almost) always initiated with the Control key. Modifications to those shortcuts are then done with the ⇧ key. So, for example, you move to the next tab using ControlTab ↹ and move to the previous tab using Control⇧Tab ↹.

I have recently moved to OS X and I'm having a hard time remembering when to use ⌥ and when to use ⇧ in combination with ⌘. I almost never get it right. It is like it is random, but I want to think there is actually a rule.

So, does this rule actually exist?

Well, coming from a Windows background myself, I can state the following:

The Cmd key is usually like Ctrl on Windows (e.g., Ctrl+c == Cmd+c).
As with Windows, the Shift key is a common modifier to the Cmd key.
I believe that Macs traditionally had an Option key, which also came to be known as the Alt key (perhaps to help those accustomed to Windows).
Aside from that, both Ctrl and Option are treated like modifiers on the Cmd key.

Between different Mac applications, there is sorta an effort to have some consistency in what certain key combinations do. For example, Ctrl+Cmd+f is usually a full-screen toggle.

However, the consistency of such keyboard shortcuts can vary per the software publisher.

Now, as a person that is familiar with Windows, you'll notice that Alt doesn't activate a menu mode, such as being able to drill down to a specific menu item.

However,you can create a keyboard shortcut via System Preferences >> Keyboard >> Shortcuts >> App Shortcuts. Just type the shortcut name as it appears in the application's menu.


iOS continuous photo App I'm searching for an app (for my iPhone 5S) that takes photos (without stopping) every X seconds. The requirement is an app that takes photos, not videos or directly generates a time lapse animation.

For example: I set "shoot every 1.00 second" and here it is: the phone starts taking pictures every second (through that app of course).

Does anyone know some app for that no matter if it's free or paid?

Suggested cool apps:

Hyperlapse (you can set the fastness, which is not possible with iPhone time-lapse)
Osnap, which does cost 3.99 but it's worth it!


Pages can't open file: error -60005 I have a .pages file I've worked on as recently as May. When I tried to open it the Console.app reported:

9/2/16 7:21:44.392 PM CoreServicesUIAgent[337]: Error -60005 creating authorization

The file didn't open. I created a new document and save it, and was able to reopen it; though Pages DID throw the same error (but the file window opened).

I deleted and re-downloaded Pages from the App store. Preview.app confirms the app has readable content.

I have done first aid on the disk, and am on El Cap 10.11.6.

Pages is up to date, 5.6.2.

Any suggestions?

I called Mac support and they had me delete some files from my computers' cache and then reboot in safe mode and open the document. I then deleted my trash can and rebooted in regular mode and the problem was fixed.


Mac unable to set rotations of multiple monitors Having a little problem with my MacbookPro 2019-15inch-i9 (Big Sur 2020.07.08). I have two vertical monitors(ASUS VG249 1080p 144Hz)(BenQ GW2270 1080p 60Hz) and one normal monitor(DELL 2718Q 4k) set up with it, and they were working fine with a "H-shape" setup.
However I just found after I updated to Big Sur for a week, the setting is failed. I am able to set only 1 monitor rotated. I tried to set the second rotation after the first rotation is successful, but the this operation would reset all the settings of Display, which means the three monitors are all horizontal.
Plus, I've known it can also be a problem to Mac OS 10.15 or 10.14, I've searched it and found these problem unsolved.
Any help would be appreciated.

I've solved this problem by making a safe mode reboot.
You need to shut down your MacbookPro, hold command + R. After you get into the safe mode successfully, restart it again.
This time you get into your Mac with a normal mode, and the dual rotation of monitors is working.
A rough assumption is that a safe mode reboot may cleared some cache of the system?
Hope my solution can be helpful to you.


Macbook air 2020 overheating I just got my macbook air and installed some apps on it. But it started to get hot and I don't know why. The ram usage is 5 GBs out of 16 GBs and CPU usage is about 7%. But still the bottom of my computer is hot as hell. I ran diagnostics but it told me that nothing is wrong.
Is there anything I can do?

The device runs internally at the boiling point, so a hot case only implies the CPU is able to run at full capacity. I’ve described it to many people that a proper device often is considered uncomfortably warm by reasonable people that aren’t familiar with how thin and power hungry the internals can be and how efficiently the heat is channeled to the metal case.
This review covers it well. The  i3 version should run the coolest and run the blower less urgently than the i5 or i7 but if you are not doing a stress test like this, I would still engage Apple. Unless your CPU measurement is not showing all the processes, less than 10% CPU should be an idle temp and not a loaded CPU temp of precisely “hot as hell”

https://www.imore.com/macbook-air-2020-review-one-month-later

To validate your CPU be sure to show all processes in the menus and also look at energy usage over time.


Xcode 7 update completes but Xcode 6.4 remains I updated Xcode but it doesn't appear to have actually updated. This is seen in my update history after reboot:

I click that and I get a link to Open the application.

I click that and I open a version that reports it is 6.4

Is anyone else having this problem, or does anyone know what I'm not doing correctly to apply the update?

Xcode installed correctly after moving it out of the Applications folder and into the Trash. I reinstalled from the App store and now the correct version number is showing.


iPhone Goes To Sleep While Navigating This is a new thing my phone does since I believe iOS 12. Is there any way to stop it?

I use turn-by-turn navigation on my phone all the time. But these days, the phone tends to go to sleep in the middle of my trip. It used to never do this. The phone would always stay fully awake while navigating. But now my phone goes black and I have to hit the home button to wake it up and go back to the map.

The phone is plugged in to power while all this is going on.
This "feature" is new and is a huge pain in the ass. Is there any way to go back to the previous behavior?

If you go to settings/Display & Brightness/Auto-Lock and set this to never, that should work?

Hope this helps


I have a "Remove" button next to app icon on iTunes' app-page In iTunes, on the app-page, I have somehow got a "Remove" button next to my app icons (left hand window). I can't get rid of the remove button and I'm afraid it deletes my apps permanently.

How did this come about? Does it mean these apps will be taken off iPad only or from iTunes altogether, as a permanent delete? How do I correct this, so that all apps are organised on specific pages (on the right hand window) whilst being able to choose which apps transfer to iPad and which stay in iTunes to use or transfer when needed?

Any help for my non-techno brain would be welcome.

Are you referring to the App section of the iPad that you are viewing on iTunes?

If so, the Remove button removes just removes the app from the iPad. It only permanently deletes the app from the iPad. You don't have to worry about it being deleted from iTunes or even from your Apple ID. To re-install the app from to your iPad, you will just need to click on "Install" (it will replace the "Remove" button) or go to the App Store, tap Purchases, and find the app, then tap on the icon with the cloud and a down arrow.


Utility to move windows as a group for Mac OS X? Is there a utility for Mac OS X that will group windows (2 separate apps)? Similar to how objects are grouped in PowerPoint or other design apps. I would like both windows to move together.

There are 5 apps on the App Store that match the search term "arrange windows" and I have heard good things about three of them (in reverse aplhabetical order):

WindowTiler
Cinch
BetterSnapTool

The one I use is also on the app store, but doesn't show in that search term but it's fabulous.

Divvy


Is there a .eml email file viewer that can also save attachments? I'm looking for a free .eml file viewer to just read email files and for extracting attachments.

I don't want to use Mail.app as it requires account setup - when I click on a .eml file Mail.app opens with a window for setting up an account - which I don't want to do - I never use Mail.app - I use gmail.

Is there a .eml email file viewer (including extracting attachments)?

To extract attachments from the Terminal, you can use a couple of different methods. Probably the easiest is

  perl -MMIME::Base64 -ne 'print decode_base64($_)' < file.eml > out

where file.eml is the email file in question and out is the name of the attachment.

The same thing can be accomplished by using the base64 command, but you have to do some cleanup work on the original email file first -- namely strip everything out of the eml file before the base64 encoded attachment. The command would be something along these lines

  base64 -D -i file.eml -o out

If you take the 2nd approach, recommend that you operate on a copy of the original file.

Of course for reading the eml files, you can probably use cat or your favorite editor. Works in a pinch, but certainly not the easiest way to deal with email.


Control and see iPhone from Mac with broken iPhone screen My iPhone screen broke, I can't see anything anymore. But I know it's still working because plugging to my mac syncs it with iTunes.

Is there a tool I can use to see my screen on the mac, control it, etc?

The tricky part is any solution requiring me to first do something on the iPhone won't work, since I can't do anything...

Just use QuickTime Player on your Mac.

Connect the Lightning port from your iPhone to the USB to your computer.
In QuickTime select File → New Movie Recording but don't start the recording.
Next to the record button select the down arrow button, then select your iPhone. This will bring the iPhone's display screen to your Mac within QuickTime.

You don't have to record anything, you can use your non-working display and look inside QuickTime to see your screen.


How can I regularly move movies in iTunes to an external drive? I have been adding a lot of movies to iTunes lately. Problem is, the size grows very quickly. I appreciate having the metadata in one place, but I would want to move the actual files to an external drive. Preferably, I'd be able to have unwatched movies on the main drive and move them to external drive once they have been watched. The link to iTunes must be kept, and metadata kept, as is.

I have my folders organized by iTunes, and I know the trick to "Hold Command and Option keys and drag the file(s) to the main iTunes window". For this case however, I want to add movies as normal and just change the internal pointer to an external drive, probably through a script. Anyone know if it's possible or any other workarounds (e.g. symlinks).

If your external drive is permanently connected to your Mac I suggest cutting and pasting your entire iTunes library (called "iTunes Media") over to the external drive, and then point iTunes to it through Preferences > Advanced > iTunes Media folder location. Now all your data would be stored on that external drive, while still easily accessible via iTunes.


Why can't I add or edit contacts on my new iPhone 4? On my new iPhone 4, I can add a new contact after talking to them (Add as new contact) but I cannot otherwise add new contacts, or edit existing ones.

It looks like a bug.  Is there a way to work around it, or do I have to wait for Apple to fix their issue?  The phone is not jailbroken.

You can use the Contacts application provided in the iPhone 4, and create/edit contacts in there.


Can I share my Wifi connection on my iPad? I'll be going away in a couple of days, and I believe that where I am going, the WiFi is restricted to one device being connected at once. However, I would like to have internet access on both my iPhone and iPad Mini. Is there any way I can connect to the internet through my iPad Mini or vice verse, without a jailbreak?

Just had the same issue in my hotel in the Dominican Republic, where I enjoy a great snow-free christmas. The hotel locks the DCHP to the MAC address of the first device that connects, thereby limiting usage to one device per paying customer--they think.

Just note the MAC address belonging to the wi-fi adapter of your first device and then you can soft-set that for each of your other MacBooks, Windows laptops or what have you. In OS X you can use…

sudo ifconfig en1 ether <your first device's MAC address>

…and then you are good to go. Turn wi-fi off on your first device. It's not perfect, but at least you do not have to pay multiple fees.


How can I explain the value of the Secure Enclave / (TPM chip) to a privacy conscious user? The Apple Secure Enclave offers many opportunities for privacy and security.  Credit card information, Private keys with specific I/O functions (the private data is never exposed), PII, etc are all protected.

Question

Has Apple found a way to describe, illustrate, or educate an end user on why this is valuable?

As a techie, I jumped to the iPhones with the Secure Enclave, but I think people are understanding it.  (Some users said it sounded like "enslave" and that explained their initial bias against it

Well, Apple has explained the Secure Enclave in various communications. How well the value of the Secure Enclave itself gets across to an end user is debatable and obviously a matter of opinion.

Most end users probably aren't really that interested, they just take it for granted that "it's all good". And Apple has achieved that for the overwhelming majority of users - not just via their communications, but also their actions (e.g. taking on the FBI in court).

As for those end users who are more interested in the technical side of things, how many of them actually understand the Secure Enclave is another question - but I guess that's what you're trying to get at. :)

In terms of end users, Apple's primary communication channel is their website. Many of the pages on their website explain the benefits of the Secure Enclave without getting too technical or even mentioning it. For example these pages (Manage your privacy, macOS Security) mention it, while the Approach to privacy page does not. But all indirectly explain the benefits of it.

In addition to the above, most of their individual product pages will reference and/or link to info regarding security features, privacy, etc. So, for example, a user interested in buying the iPhone 7 will eventually come across the following quote:

  Protecting Your Data

  Privacy and security are at the core of everything we believe. And
  everything we make.

  At Apple, protecting your information is something we build into our
  processes from the beginning. When we have an idea for a product, we
  find a way to make it that ensures your security and privacy. It’s a
  value we’re deeply committed to because your trust means everything to
  us. Learn more about Apple's approach to privacy >

As you can see, it's written for the masses in an easy to understand and re-assuring way, without getting technical or even mentioning the Secure Enclave.

The most in-depth information from Apple directly about the Secure Enclave is found in the iOS Security Guide (which is updated regularly), although this is not really geared toward consumer end users.

And of course, various Apple keynotes and patents refer to the Secure Enclave as well.

As an aside, you may find what Brian Roemmele had to say about the Secure Enclave interesting.


PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR on 2 of my 3 WordPress sites but only from my MacBook Pro I get the PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR error on two of my three WordPress sites when using current versions of Firefox and Safari on my late 2013 MacBook Pro, macOS 10.15.6. All three sites are hosted on the same ionos.com plan (shared Linux server). I can access the sites from this computer when using Edge (Chromium) and Tor browsers. I can also access them with any browser from my iPhone, iPad, and my wife's late-2013 MacBook Pro with the same macOS and browsers.
When I uninstalled Sophos Home Premium, as attrib suggested, the issue went away. Unfortunately, attrib's solution did not work for me. When I reinstalled Sophos the issue returned.
I also use a Winston Privacy appliance but it filters traffic for our whole home network and should affect all of our devices in the same ways. To be sure, I bypassed Winston and had the same issue.
I let Little Snitch run in passive mode. It did not record any blocked connections to the affected sites. I've also asked friends to visit the sites and they had no issues.
All of this seems to point to some issue on my MacBook Pro but I have been unable to find relevant guidance I can follow to get to the bottom of it.
I am not an under-the-hood expert on macOS or networks but I usually can follow explicit, step-by-step instructions.

I would use the developer console in your browsers to start to look at the web site errors. That almost always shows you the error in these cases, however if there are lots of errors, you may spend some time eliminating them one by one.
Here are step by step directions to get the console on Safari. There are some amazing tutorials on FireFox and I know a lot of people prefer that for this exercise so maybe someone has that experience to share here as an edit or another answer.

https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/use-the-developer-tools-in-the-develop-menu-sfri20948/mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/safari-developer/welcome/mac

The benefit of these tools is you will have actionable items to take to vendors or ask wordpress experts how that error works and which precise URL triggered it. Most Wordpress pages have about 100 to 300 elements on “one page” so the vast majority of things can work and you still see an error thrown.


How to remount an internal drive as read-write in mountain lion Suddenly a secondary drive with HFS+ partition changed from read-write to read-only. How can I use the mount command to reverse it in mountain lion?

Try using mount -u -w:

sudo mount -u -w /Volumes/YourDriveName

-u modifies the status of an already mounted filesystem. -w mounts a filesystem as read-write.


HTML5 in Safari 9.0.1 (11601.2.7.2) - `html5test.com According to html5test.com, Safari now supports HTML5. I am specifically interested in the HTML5 tag parameter required.

However, when I add the required parameter to my form, Safari ignores it. I have tested the page with FireFox and it works.

So, does Safari support HTML5 or not?

Safari does support HTML5 and does support form validation, however support for 'required' in Safari on OS X and iOS is 'partial'.

  Partial support refers to lack of notice when form with required fields is attempted to be submitted.

Source: caniuse.com/#search=required

Implementation is off-topic here, but feel free to search for solutions on Stack Overflow.


How can I change AirPod volume with one hand? (while riding a bike) I need to adjust the volume of the AirPods while riding my bike.  This could be because the audio is now in "loud commercial mode" or because I need to pay closer attention to my surroundings.

What is the quickest, most immediate, way of adjusting volume on the AirPods, aside from removing one from the ear?  (and pausing the audio)

You can pause the audio by modifying the settings of the AirPods so that when you double tap on an AirPod, instead of activating Siri, it plays/pauses instead. This can be done in Settings > Bluetooth > AirPods. As for volume, I don't think there's a way. I personally have my iPhone mounted to my bike (with a Quad Lock case), and I control the volume with the iPhone volume buttons.


How do I get bash with readline support from Nix? I am experimenting with the Nix package manager on macOS. The bash package I got from Nix doesn’t seem to have readline support enabled:

$ nix-env -i bash
installing ‘bash-4.3-p46’
building path(s) ‘/nix/store/468xvd20nj86yr6k16g2918849f3w7pn-user-environment’
created 119 symlinks in user environment
$ bash
Restored session: Thu Nov 24 14:21:31 CET 2016
$ foo^A^K

How do I get Bash with readline from Nix?

Are you passing a boolean true to the expression for the 'interactive' attribute? It appears this is required in the expression for the bash package for readline support.

There's also an expression with the boolean already supplied so nix-env -iA nixpkgs.bashInteractive should give bash with readline support enabled.


My MacBook keeps crashing My Mac keeps crashing with the same error:

  a freed zone element has been modified in zone kalloc.64

Here are four crash reports I collected over a period of time.

It happens no matter what I'm doing, using the terminal, the browser, even when the screensaver is on.

I did try disabling avira real time scan (didn't exit) but that didn't stop the crashing.

This is driving me nuts, any ideas?

It's hard to say from the crash reports, the good news is that the issue may be related to software - a misbehaving third party kernel module may cause a kernel panic.

From you crash reports I see the following 3rd party module:

com.avira.kext.FileAccessControl

Try updating or removing avira, and see if that helps.


Deleting all photos in iCloud I want to delete all my photos from my iCloud (ca. 2500 Photos), so that I have no photos in the iCloud.

I have gone into my iPhone's Photo app and selected all 2500 Photos and deleted them. Then I deleted them from the "recently deleted" album in the Photos app. It said that this would delete them from all devices connected to my iCloud.

Now, my iPhone's Photos app is absolutely empty, which is what I wanted.

However, 24 hours later, on my other iOS devices, as well as on iCloud.com (accessed through my laptop), the Photos are still visible, even though it says "Updated".

Does it just take some time for the deletion of all photos to sync to all iOS devices/iCloud.com, or is something not working as I expect it to work?

It could take several hours to delete photos from iCloud. You're deleting 2500 photos so it could take more than 24 hours to delete them depending on when you've plugged your iPhone into power and connected it to wifi.

You are aware that once these photos are deleted they're gone for good (unless you have another backup somewhere) and you can't get them back?


Is there a way to force the youtube app to load videos in non-HD resolutions? When watching youtube on my iPhone 4 I've noticed that by default the videos in the youtube app load at "HD" quality levels.  As my ISP throttles YouTube traffic, this makes watching them impossible.

This question: YouTube App streams much slower than YouTube mobile site on iPhone shows how to work around this with mobile Safari, but I'm looking for a way to continue to use the YouTube app.

Is there a way to choose video quality while using the iPhone YouTube app?

There is no way to set this without jailbreaking.
If you do have your iPhone jailbroken you can buy 3G Unrestrictor whose purpose actually is to enable the use of apps that demand to be on WiFi. But one of its features is to force the Youtube quality to your preferred setting.


Is this iPhone alert Trojan/Malware? Once in a while I get this bizarre behavior on my iPhone 5's screen with iOS 8.3.1. (The button says 'Approve' - in Hebrew).

I can't say if its SMS/MMS or something else. But it feels like Malware.

Anyone familiar with this behavior or something similar?
What should I do next?

This looks like a "Flash SMS" or "class 0 message", supposedly only available to be sent by your carrier, but available to others via Apps (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and in some carriers, by prefixing your message with *go.

There are more technical details on this answer at Stack Overflow, specially in this linked article:

  As per the SMS specification, after pressing “Dismiss”, the overlay and message disappear and the message is immediately discarded, leaving no trace of its delivery on the phone

I wouldn't worry much, but be sure to check your bills as it may be a sneaky way to forcing you into those pesky SMS subscription schemes, as referenced by this answer here on Ask Different.


itunes seems to sync my wife's iphone with  all of MY apps my wife just got an iphone and she did her first sync and its syncing all of my applications (i have an ipod touch).  Is there anyway to have us sync to a separate list of apps?

if i delete these apps off my wife's iphone, are they going to be removed from itunes (and then my ipod next time i sync ?? )

Anything removed from an iOS device is not removed form iTunes.
Secondly, iTunes sync's all apps that are specified to sync, no matter whose App it is.
iTunes determines the owner to be the Apple ID, which downloaded the App.

Here is an example o the app sync window:

Here you can choose the apps to sync. And remember it will upload apps belonging to either of you, but it won't change ownership of them.


Does the biometry backup with iTunes? I have an iPhone X with my FaceID registered. I back it up using iTunes.

If I restore this backup to another iPhone with FaceID support, will my registered FaceID be restored? Or do I have to register FaceID again?

I don't have multiple devices to test these scenarios on, and I couldn't find a definitive answer online.

FaceID and TouchID are stored locally only on the device in a Security Enclave and never sent across the network.

As Justin Pot writes in "What Is Apple’s “Secure Enclave”, And How Does It Protect My iPhone or Mac?" on How-To Geek:

  The Secure Enclave boots separately from the rest of your device. It runs its own microkernel, which is not directly accessible by your operating system or any programs running on your device. There’s 4MB of flashable storage, which is used exclusively to store 256-bit elliptic curve private keys. These keys are unique to your device, and are never synced to the cloud or even directly seen by your device’s primary operating system. Instead, the system asks the Secure Enclave to decrypt information using the keys.

So, your FaceID (or TouchID for that matter) is tied to a specific device and can not be restored on a different device from a backup.

You can read more about it in the Wikipedia article on FaceID.


Tools, languages, libraries and API's for development of a MacOS wide application Please just assume that the user has accepted whatever permission are required.

Is it possible to listen to window actions under MacOS? In Swift
preferably?

For instance, if a window moves, is resized, minimized and etc.

Preferably without polling and comparing states.
Is it possible in Swift language get info on windows, or manipulate windows of other applications? Or do you have to rely on using something like the dreadful AppleScript?
How well does Swift stand on its own when developing MacOS applications? What fallbacks are required?
Is LUA and hammerspoon perhaps better suited for this kind of task?
Is it possible to draw around windows to add buttons and what not under MacOS? Would this be possible in Swift, AppleScript or Objective C?

No, there is no public API for these events on macOS. The programming language does not matter.
Yes. Using the Accessibility frameworks. The programming language does not matter.
Swift is Apple's recommended development language for macOS. Discussions about Swift are better answered elsewhere.
See above.
Within your own application, yes this is possible. Sections of windows can be transparent. This is possible in Objective-C or Swift but not in AppleScript. See xScope as an example of display wide overlays.


How to use the programming calculator in OS X? I'm trying to make the best out of the programming calculator in OS X, but I don't know these functions:

byte flip
word flip
X<
X>>Y
RoL/RoR (are these just sll/srl?)

Also is it possible to perform a two's complement on a narrower range i.e. 16 bits instead of 64 bits?

Flipping

Byte flip and word flip will swap bytes or words.
Technically it works like this:

Let's say we have a two byte value (hexadecimal): 0x3344

The number consists of two bytes, the lower one is 0x44, and the higher one is 0x33, so let's put them into two imaginary cells of one byte size:

[33][44]

Now, flip the cells:

[44][33]

Therefore byte flipped value will be 0x4433

Same way with words, considering word consists of two bytes.
Let's assume we have a two-word value: 0x12345678

Split them into two imaginary cells, now containing one word (2 bytes) each:

[1234][5678]

Now, flip the cells:

[5678][1234]

Therefore word flipped value will be 0x56781234

Shifting

Shifting shifts values bitwise.
What does it mean?

Let's take a very simple decimal number: 5
Then, let's convert it to its binary representation: 101
Then, let's shift it left by 1:

[101] << [1010]

We basically moved the whole binary sequence left one position and filled the empty space with zero.

Now do the same, but with shifting right:

[101] >> [010]

our number is 10 now. The lower 1 is lost by shifting right. The zero on the left is just for display and has no value.
// Technically there's a CPU flag which indicates that the bit was lost, but it is not relevant to the calculator.

Rotating

Rotating works absolutely same as shifting with one exception: bits are never lost.
So, we take the same decimal value 5 and its binary representation 101.
Then we rotate it right within a byte:

[00000101] ROR [10000010]

As you can see, the [1] which was lost on the shifting right was carried on the beginning of our byte.

Same with shifting left, let's perform series of rotations by 1 bit left until we carry one bit:

[00000101] ROL [00001010]
[00001010] ROL [00010100]
[00010100] ROL [00101000]
[00101000] ROL [01010000]
[01010000] ROL [10100000]
[10100000] ROL [01000001]


How can I reinstall an application that the Mac App Store thinks is installed already? I'm the developer of an application that is currently on the Mac App Store. I'm trying to download my own application so that I can test out the binary that is on the store. (As opposed to running it in Xcode.)

I have purchased my own app in the app store previously, but then deleted it. (So that I could install a different version for testing.) Now, the App Store thinks that the application is still installed, even though it is not. (I deleted the development version when I was finished using it.)

I have removed all instances of the application from:

/Applications
~/Downloads

But the app is marked as "Installed" in the App Store, and it doesn't show up in my purchases. Is there a trick to get my binary re-installed?

Awesome, I figured it out. Run this command, which rebuilds LaunchServices:

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

And everything should be back to good! Immediately after running, the App Store allowed me to re-purchase the app.

Source: MacLife Link


How can I export SMS text messages from my iPhone? When answering this question, please note if the solution is:

For Windows and/or Mac OS X users
The price of the solution
If you have successfully—and actually—used the solution

How can I export SMS text messages from my iPhone?

Get /var/mobile/Library/SMS/sms.db
It is now exported.

What format do you want the export to be? The existing format is sqlite, so you can convert it to ASCII like so: sqlite3 sms.db .dump > sms.db.txt

For step one, you can jailbreak and then scp, or you can just search your backup folder for the file, no jailbreak required.

If your phone is not jailbroken, look on OS X in:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/<long_hex_string>/

And, in my case, and according to various web sources, although not in all cases, is named:

3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28

To answer your other questions: Any OS, Free, Successful.


does a 7mm 2.5" inch SSHD fit a Mac mini 9.5mm HDD area without any additional work? I have a Mac mini (Mac Mini 5,1 Mid 2011 , 2.3GHz intel Core i5, 4GB RAM) model that has a stock HDD (Toshiba MK5065GSX 500 GB SATA III 5400 RPM).

The HDD has a SMART issue and I have ordered Seagate's ST500LM000 (500 GB laptop thin SSHD).
The only thing I am worried now is that Toshiba HDD had 9.5mm size while the SSHD has 7mm thickness. Would new SSHD be compatible and inserted without any extra stuff,effort and adjustment OR should I stick to a 9.5mm drive only ?

I think there ought to be enough play in the connectors that it will fit without further modification.

The only real issue with a mini is that the drives are fixed from underneath rather than from the top. This will move the connectors by 2.5 mm from where they initially were.

Judging from the iFixit guide on adding a second drive, there would appear to be enough play in that connector strip that you will get away with that small move.

Compared to all the effort to get in there, though, if you find you don't have enough play in it, packing out the top by a couple of mm really shouldn't be much of a challenge. We're talking beermat depth, or a couple of pieces of folded card, not major engineering work.


Was the FileMerge application removed from OS X 10.7.3? I just updated to 10.7.3 and can no longer find the FileMerge application, which is part of the Xcode developer tools package. Did apple remove this in 10.7.3?

I've checked in my developer directory, and used Spotlight, but it is nowhere to be found.

With Xcode 4.3, Apple has moved the content of /Developer to the usual places for applications etc. Filemerge is accessible by starting Xcode and then accessing Xcode -> Open Developer Tool. If it's not listed there, select "More Developer Tools" to install it.

Physically it's part of Xcode.app (Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/FileMerge.app) and can be executed stand-alone by inspecting the package content of Xcode.app. If you really need it outside of Xcode often, you can also create an alias/symlink to start it directly (or just drag it into the Dock).


Can I recover iphoto after having lost it/accidentally deleted it? I went to go look through my photos but after searching through all of my documents and throughout applications in the Finder I realized that iPhoto does not exist on my computer anymore. Is there a way I can recover it or download it again for free?

It's weird that an app just disappears like that! Are you sure it's gone? Before anything I would recommend you do the following:

Search using Spotlight (I'm guessing you already did this?) for "iPhoto".
Look inside your Trash. Maybe it was dropped there by mistake. You can always drag it  back out though if it's there.

If you do this but still find no traces of iPhoto, you can go ahead and re-install it. This can be done in two ways:

If you bought your Mac before 2011, it should have come with two CDs in the box. One of them should be called "Applications Install DVD" (Disk 2). Slide that into the SuperDrive of your Mac, open it, and you should have the option to re-install iPhoto.
If you bought your Mac after 2011, it probably came preloaded with OSX Lion, and without any bundled software CDs in the box. If that is the case, you should be able to head over to the App Store and install iPhoto from there for free. This should also be the case if you ever bought iPhoto from the App Store. All the apps you buy from the App Store can be re-installed at any time for free.

Hope it helps! If you have any questions please add a comment below.


Questionable Wi-Fi problem on MBP: how to analyse it? I can't all of the sudden turn on WiFi on my MBP. I have upgraded to Yosemite half a year ago and it was all working fine until today.

I tried some tips from this thread Can't turn on wifi on Mac OSX Mountain lion MBP 2012 like sudo ifconfig en# up(tried all numbers because I don't know which en is WiFi...

I also tried hard power off; restarted several times; removed WiFi interface, restarted and added it back. Nothing helped. After hard power off I saw it trying to connect to a network for few secs and then it stopped again...

ifconfig output for wifi device:

en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
    ether 60:03:08:97:7a:56
    nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
    media: autoselect (<unknown type>)
    status: inactive

Console output after system startup:

31/01/15 22:46:33,000 kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Down on en0. Reason 8 (Disassociated because station leaving).
31/01/15 22:46:33,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm4360_P2PInterface::init name <p2p0> role 1
31/01/15 22:46:33,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm4360_P2PInterface::init <p2p> role 1
31/01/15 22:46:33,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm4360_P2PInterface::init name <awdl0> role 4
31/01/15 22:46:33,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm4360_P2PInterface::attachToBpf name <awdl0> role 4 successful attach to bpf type 147
31/01/15 22:46:33,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm4360_P2PInterface::init <awdl> role 4
31/01/15 22:46:33,686 airportd[30]: airportdProcessDLILEvent: en0 attached (up)
31/01/15 22:46:35,000 kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Up on awdl0
31/01/15 22:46:39,000 kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Up on en0
31/01/15 22:46:39,000 kernel[0]: AirPort: RSN handshake complete on en0
31/01/15 22:46:39,653 airportd[30]: -[CWXPCConnection performScanWithChannels:ssidList:legacyScanSSID:includeHiddenNetworks:mergeScanResults:maxAge:maxMissCount:maxWakeCount:maxAutoJoinCount:interfaceName:waitForWiFi:waitForBluetooth:token:priority:reply:]: !!! SCAN request received 0.0127 seconds after previous scan request from 58 (locationd)
31/01/15 22:46:39,000 kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Down on en0. Reason 8 (Disassociated because station leaving).
31/01/15 22:46:40,005 airportd[30]: _handleLinkEvent: WiFi is not powered. Resetting state variables.

Does anyone have any clue how to fix it?

I'd prefer a solution that doesn't include reinstalling my whole system.

Try following in your Terminal:

Manually connect to WiFi

Turn On

networksetup -setairportpower en0 on

Find

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/A/Resources/airport scan

Connect

networksetup -setairportnetwork en0 WIFI_SSID_I_WANT_TO_JOIN WIFI_PASSWORD

It also shows it is using your Samsung as network provider, so turn it off first then check again if wifi comes on.


How to save custom bullet list in Pages I have created a custom bullet list style in Pages (5.5.1) which works great within this document. But now I want to have this custom list style as a default option in new Pages documents (Keynote too if possible!). How can I add my custom bullet list to the default bullet style options?

I have tried searching the web, but have only found how to customize, not save bullet styles...

With the Pages version listed, you can not save a global bullet list style as a template, but you can create a document with a custom bullet style and save the document as a template


Is there a way to configure Finder to move files to external drives by default, rather than copying them? I was recently helping somebody move their Mac's information to Google Drive, and the best solution turned out to be using the Google Drive client for Mac. I moved the relevant files to their Google Drive volume in Finder, then created a few aliases from some folders inside Drive back to the Desktop.

We discovered a small issue when attempting to drag files into the folder aliases: Files will copy, as opposed to move to the destination. The person that I was helping is accustomed to the behavior of a real folder, where files move into a folder when they're dragged on top of it. I believe that this is because the alias refers to a folder on a (technically) removable volume, so the alias is treated the same way as a removable USB drive would be.

Is there a way to configure Finder so that it will prefer to move files when dragging them to external volumes, as opposed to creating a copy? I specifically want to find a way to make this happen automatically, as opposed to using keyboard shortcuts.

No, there is no way to change the default option from “copy” to “move”.

Even the option to “move” with a keyboard shortcut is a fairly new feature.


How do I cleanly remove old Juniper Pulse installation from Mac OSX? The Console application on the Mac is continuously throwing log messages presumably because fragments of a previous install are still in place. I have tried Googling around for a solution and using grep to search through plist files for obvious strings. No luck so far.

Getting recurring error messages per the below:

May 26 19:12:53 MacBook-Pro com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (net.juniper.AccessService[73727]): Service could not initialize: Unable to set current working directory. error = 2: No such file or directory, path = /Applications/Junos Pulse.app/Contents/Plugins/JUNS: 16G2136: xpcproxy + 11215 [1386][C3C8A771-3847-30E4-BE12-7941C4A2924D]: 0x2
May 26 19:12:53 MacBook-Pro com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (net.juniper.AccessService): Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

First you will have to locate where Juniper installed the net.juniper.AccessService daemon.

Here is a shell script made without a real case to test it (in blind mode), then beware of any errors and report them in comments so I will be able to fix it.

_plist1="net.juniper.AccessService.plist"
_plist2="net.juniper.UninstallPulse.plist"

export _plist1 _plist2

for _dir in /Library/LaunchDaemons /System/Library/LaunchDaemons ; do
    cd ${_dir}

    # check if the .plist is in this directory

    if [ -f ${_plist1} -o -f ${_plist2} ] ; then
        echo "found in ${_dir}"
        launchctl unload -w ${_plist1}
        launchctl unload -w ${_plist2}
        rm -i ${_plist1} ${_plist2}
    fi
done

Run this script without root priviledges.
Check that the echo display the plist file is found in one of the 2 directories and the launchctl command issue an error because you don't
have priviledge to stop this daemon.
If you didn't get any unexpected error message, then

switch to root user:

/usr/bin/sudo -s

run this small script once more
and answer y to the rm command to definetely remove the Juiper daemon.

Then exit root user:

exit


Open iTunes when iPhone is connected on a Mac I remember that during the installation of iTunes (while I was upgrading it on my Mac) it asked if I want to install an application so that iTunes can be opened when my iPhone is connected. Initially I didn't want this so I answered "No". Now I want this behavior, but have no idea where that option is.

How can I get iTunes to start up when my iPhone is connected?

I tried disabling/enabling the option "Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected" in my iPhone's Summary page on iTunes, but it doesn't help. I believe it needs that application it wanted to install initally.

The option to disable auto sync was enabled in the settings, but now I disabled it.

Go to System Preferences → Accounts, and view your Login Items. One of them should be
iTunesHelper.

If iTunesHelper is missing from Login Items, here's how to add it:

iTunesHelper is located inside the iTunes.app bundle, at

/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunesHelper.app/

Navigate into the iTunes.app package; in Finder, Right-click iTunes.app and select Show Packaged Content to get inside it. (Or use Terminal to navigate and then open Finder with open .)
Locate iTunesHelper.app, and drag it to the Login Items pane.
Logout or even restart may be required for changes to take effect.

Whew, that was weird. I'm glad I got it added back too. :-)

(Alternatively you could reinstall iTunes, but the above is much quicker and easier.)

These forum threads were helpful:

How to prevent iTunes from opening when iPhone connected
iTunesHelper is gone in login items...


Is it still possible to order the reinstall disk for a MacBook 2007? I want to order the reinstall disk for MacBook 2007.

I think what you mean is the restore disk that came with the computer. If so your best bet is to just call the Apple Store and speak to a sales rep. Those kind of things are generally unavailable on the web site or stores but are available through Apple itself.

Apple Contact info here.


How do I make more space on a Macbook air? I have a bunch of files that I don't need. I'm wondering what's taking up all the space. I am tempted to almost format the laptop and start fresh.

What can I do to find out what is taking up all the disk space in my Macbook?

I suggest using a tool like Space Gremlin to identify files eating up your disk space.
https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/space-gremlin/id414515628?mt=12
http://www.spacegremlinapp.com/


Using the same audio input on multiple devices, recording iOS video I am recording video with two iOS devices (which I will then use for camera cuts, etc...), and I would like to use a single audio source for both videos.

My thought is that I would need some kind of splitter that could take output from something like the iRig PRE, then split that and plug it into both devices as a microphone and it would work as such.

Is there such a device?

Or am I going about trying to edit video from multiple cameras all wrong?

(What I'm doing at the moment is recording the audio line separately, then syncing it to each video, rendering out intermediate sync'd up video, and then editing those files together, which seems like it wastes an extra step; but I've no professional training in how this is generally accomplished.)

The only answers I've found here seem to involve using separate headphones and a mic running into the same jack on a device, which is kind of the inverse of what I am looking for.

There were no devices which were designed to filter matching audio into two iOS devices at the same time. The solution I went with in my comment is likely the best.

That is, Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro X both have a feature which will use audio to automatically sync up video tracks. I recorded high quality audio with an external microphone, and using that in conjunction with the audio built into each device, FCP:X was able to create a multi-camera clip with the three audio tracks and two video tracks synced up. I could then select each audio track and each video track independently.


Bootable drive - disk is locked error So I've followed the apples guide and also another guide on here on creating a bootable drive for MacOS Mojave.

I bought a new flash drive, plugged it in and erased it.

I set the SanDisk Cruzer Blade Media  to a GUID Partition map
I then created the volume and set it as MAC OS Extended (Journal)
I run the commands in terminal and it copies the Mojave over fine, says complete.
I restart my Mac and select the Install Mojave drive (Not my MACINTOSH HD)
In disk utility I select to install Mojave
Click continue on the installation
Then all my drives appear, but my bootable drive which is called Install MacOS Mojave says "This disk is locked"
I've tried to erase this in the disk utility mode and it says failed to unmount.

I'm really not sure why it's locked and this is the problem I'm facing, how can I get this unlocked? All the videos I watch nobody has this error except from myself.

You must select a drive that’s not the installer in step 7 since the volume where the installer exists is read only until the install completes.

I’ll assume this is your Apple guide.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

Any drive except the installer you prepared should be chosen. This lock is to force you to  it over write the installer.

if you want to erase the main drive - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496
If you have room, make a second volume on APFS beside the Catalina so you can put Mojave not on your main drive and not on the main external partition.

This is something that trips up people that come from Knowing how to install other OS. Use internet recovery if you have no bootable macOS to run an installer rather than copying your installer onto the volume you want actual macOS on.

Also, since you may not wish to erase your Mac (it’s running Catalina and you want Mojave on an external drive) and if there’s not enough free space on the internal or external for a second volume to hold Mojave, get a third external drive so the installer can be on one external and boot to it to install to the second external drive (or second volume).


How to test my installation script on macOS? What is the best way to test an install script on macOS?

I have written an installation script so that others can easily install the program qme-ng which I forked and am working on.

However testing the script is very hard. I can manually uninstall all the dependencies, Boost and gmp, each time and see whether my script can properly reinstall them but it is very costly. Furthermore I'm worried about the possibility of dependency removal that isn't complete which can complicate the issue.

Your best bet is to create a macOS VM for testing. Install VirtualBox (it's free), create a macOS virtual machine, and then create a snapshot before testing your script. Once you've finished testing your script you can restore the VM to its previous, unmodified state using the snapshot feature. Hope this helps!


Can't enable Siri in High Sierra? When I click "Enable Ask Siri" in the Siri Preferences Panel

I get a message saying Siri sends information like your voice input, contacts, and location to Apple to process your request
I click Enable
The dialog dismisses, and Enable Ask Siri is still unchecked.

Why is this happening, and how can I fix it? Note I've rebooted, and ensured Notification Center is enabled, as mentioned in things I see when googling about this issue.
Note that this is a work computer, so it may have this feature disabled in some way? I have another work computer that it works fine on, both running High Sierra.
Here are the log messages from the Console.app
error   12:20:48.173926 -0300   siriknowledged  -[CKEventHandler setupNotifyHandlers]_block_invoke Received XPC event from notifyd: <private>
error   12:20:48.181428 -0300   siriknowledged  -[CKEventHandler setupNotifyHandlers]_block_invoke Received XPC event from notifyd: <private>
default 12:20:48.183930 -0300   suggestd    PPPortrait read Siri as disabled.
default 12:20:48.184209 -0300   silhouette  PPPortrait read Siri as disabled.
default 12:20:48.194735 -0300   suggestd    PPPortrait read Siri as disabled.
default 12:20:48.194972 -0300   silhouette  PPPortrait read Siri as disabled.
default 12:20:48.200372 -0300   suggestd    PPPortrait read Siri as disabled.
default 12:20:48.205963 -0300   suggestd    PPPortrait read Siri as disabled.
default 12:20:49.271304 -0300   SiriNCService   remote_device_copy_unique_of_type: device not found
default 12:20:49.271532 -0300   SiriNCService   remote_device_copy_unique_of_type: device not found

For me, turns out IT at our company has disabled Siri as a corporate policy, at least according to our tech support.

Why it works on a corporate laptop and not a corporate desktop, both running High Sierra, I'm not sure!


Can I search for something on Google directly from Spotlight? Whenever I have to search for something, I have to open Safari and then type in it. Is there any way to search directly, like type it in Spotlight and press click something and Safari will open automatically and search whatever you typed in Spotlight?

Not sure if the feature exists for Spotlight.
However, Alfred is a replacement for Spotlight which does what you need and much more:


How to connect to an already open Terminal session on another Mac I am running Mac OS X 10.7 on a MBP and OS X 10.8 on a Mac Mini. I can connect to the Mini via ssh without any issues.
I am running GNS3 (Network simulation) on the Mini and have configured it so that when I connect to one of my routers via the console, a Terminal window is opened.

On Linux I can connect to a remote terminal sessions if it's using screen or by connecting to the tty.

I would like to connect to the remote Terminal already open on my Mini from my MBP.

Do I need to run the equivalent of screen to be able to do this?

When I do a ps -aux on the Mini I get:

885   0.0  0.4  2622240  18368   ??  S     2:19pm   0:16.27 /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/MacOS/Terminal
-psn_0_561289

Is there a way to connect to this terminal from a remote computer when I am connected via ssh?

What does -psn_0_561289 mean?

Can this identifier be used to connect to this terminal?

Screen is the best way to do it.  The command is available under both Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8.

I configured the console sessions in GNS3 to use Terminal and screen with the following command:

/usr/bin/osascript -e 'tell application "terminal" to do script with command "screen telnet %h %p ; exit"'

This can be found in GNS3>Preferences>General>Terminal Settings

Then I list the screen sessions in my remote ssh session with the command:

screen -list

and... finally connect to the required router with:

screen -D -r <name of session obtained with "screen -list" above>


Chrome is very slow due to "Resolving host in proxy script..." I'm using a proxy script to connect to the Internet. I've set it, system wide, in :

System preferences -> Network -> Advanced... ->Proxies -> Automatic Proxy Configuration

and it works well.

I've also set it in Firefox

Preferences... -> Advanced -> Network -> Connection -> Settings -> Automatic Proxy Configuration URL

and it works well too.

In Safari, which use the system proxy configuration everything works well.

BUT in chrome Version 54.0.2840.87 (64-bit), which should use also the system proxy configuration everything is very slow and I always see, in the status bar, the message :

Resolving host in proxy script...

I've found the following thread about Proxy Pac and Sierra but it doesn't help.

Any idea?

P.S. I'm using macOS 10.12.1

I was experiencing this issue while using a corporate VPN from Chrome on a Mac. I resolved it by:

Getting the full hostname from running the command hostname
Opening up /etc/hosts in an editor, with write permissions, e.g. sudo vi /etc/hosts
Adding the name of the machine to localhost, e.g.

127.0.0.1   localhost Eamons-MacBook-Pro.local

Saving /etc/hosts

Caveat: It is possible that /etc/hosts may be updated by the system during reboots and upgrades, and changes could be lost.


Disable carrier "features" on IOS 7 My IPhone 4 has some carrier features I would like to disable:

When ever I miss a call this thing opens and I have to close it. If I do not close it(say for ex. a missed call at night) the screen will stay on with this thing till I close it. It will often even drain the whole battery.

I'm using IOS 7 on a jailbroken(I did this hoping I would find a solution there) iPhone.

Yes like previous comments suggest all carrier settings are generally toggled on or off from the carriers systems and not locally in iOS. Try searching Cydia for something specific for your carrier, however your best bet is to talk with them.

Source: work for a telco