What is Apple Card and how do I get one? Apple released Apple Card this month (August 2019). What is it and how is it different from other similar cards?

How do I apply for it? How do I know if it's available in my country?

Apple Card, a self branded card is a new kind of credit card to be used in conjugation with Apple Pay. It is created by Apple in partnership with Goldman Sachs. Apple claims to have focused on simplicity, transparency and privacy with Apple Card.

It is currently available only to the citizens of United States. You need to have an Apple Pay compatible iPhone, running recent version of iOS to be able to use it.

(Note: The official documentation doesn't state what is the minimum version required to use Apple Card (it only mentions recent iOS version), Apple Card was rolled out after iOS 12.4 was released. So it could be safely assumed that your device need to run at least iOS 12.4).

You'll also need to have Two-factor authentication enabled for your Apple ID.

  How do I apply for one?

To apply for it, you need to be signed into iCloud with your Apple ID on your iPhone. Once done, open the Wallet app on your iPhone, tap on the ⨁ button, select Apple Card and tap Continue.

You'll be asked to fill out the requisite information. If your application is approved, a digital version of Apple Card is issued immediately, and is ready to use via Apple Pay.

Apple has added an information video on their official YouTube channel demonstrating the application process:

Apple Card — How to apply

For scenarios where Apple Pay is not available, such as brick and mortar stores, you can also request Apple for a physical card. The physical card is made up of titanium and carries your name on the front. It is called Titanium Apple Card.

The physical card will be shipped to your address by Apple. It's a Mastercard and can be used anywhere in the world where Mastercard is accepted.

Apple claims that the physical card is more secure than other credit cards as it doesn't contain a card number, CVV code, expiration date or your signature externally.

To learn more about Apple Card, refer to the following Apple Support documents and official links:

Apple Card
How to apply for Apple Card
How to use Apple Card
Request and use your titanium Apple Card
How your Apple Card application is evaluated

  How do I know if it's available in my country?

Apple Card is currently only being issued to U.S. citizens. To get notified when it gets introduced in your country, subscribe for the news using this link:

Apple Card - Notify Me


Automate a Webex Meeting outside of work? I'm trying to schedule a daily meeting, end the meeting, then open it back up each day. Its just a meeting where agents / friends can join to chat outside of the regular work meeting.
The main issue I have is that the computer I intend on automating this with, is my work computer on days I work, so any foreground tasks / scripts can get in the way.
Right now, I'm just using AppleScript and SystemEvents to open Safari page, click a few things and then the meeting is opened. I am testing the simplest way to do this first, before I turn it into a scheduled task.
Since I have to log into Webex, adding credentials in AppleScript would be nuts, so I'm stuck having to log in before starting the script, which pretty much defeats the purpose, since most days I'm not working and leave the computer and when I'm there, I start it up like normal anyway.
I was thinking of maybe using my backup Android phone to just be plugged in all the time, and use some Root Macro app or if I can, a terminal script or something. Its all cracked and beat up so i dont vare about screen burn and all that.
Any tips / advice? Webex Meetings does have a scheduler, but I dont think it actually starts the meeting

Well scheduling a reoccurring meeting in WebEx is not a problem there's a checkbox for that and you can define Daily, Every weekday and duration.  You can also use Outlook to schedule the WebEx meetings.

Sounds more like you want to automatically launch the meeting instead of having the meeting saved with a reminder on a calendar app?
If you install the WebEx App on macOS and have it configured to start automatically there is a notifications setting so it pops up a reminder.  Then it's just a single click on Start Meeting. Or you can use the calendar of choice to do the same after importing an iCal Webex meeting.
Or if you look at the scheduled meeting page and drop down the arrow on the green Start Meeting button there's an option to open with browser or the app.  If you choose to open with the app you can then inspect the page and find a long URL webexstart://launch/. Copy that code and then launch it with command line open "webexstart://launch/..etc..etc..".  That opens the App and brings you to the meeting where you still have to click Start Meeting. You could do the same with the meeting URL itself to launch the browser but that wouldn't be the webexstart:// but https:// instead. Similarly you'll need to click the Start Meeting button.
Since WebEx can activate the microphone and camera its a security risk to just auto-connect and requiring at least some user input to make the connection is recommended. Password protecting meetings is highly recommended.
Having a Cisco compatible video conferencing hardware endpoint connected to a network, then you could as a WebEx engineer / admin configure it to start the meeting and connect automatically.  This is how physical conference rooms are setup. But then you need more privileges on the WebEx backend as well as some hardware infrastructure and the software to hook it into the Cisco WebEx backend. Also the latest best practice is to not auto-connect for security reasons and a physical conference room will typically have a touch panel showing the scheduled meetings and have a Join button that becomes available at the appropriate time. That way if no one shows up to that room the room won't automatically connect.  You don't want someone wandering by to eavesdrop on a meeting if no one is using that room.  For sensitive meetings it is normal to require a passcode even for a physical room so that means tapping Join and typing in a numeric passcode to join the meeting.
Automating your own connection is of course your own choice.  But consider the scenario of having your meeting auto-connect at an inappropriate moment, etc.


What Photogrammetry software is available on Mac OS X? I have been searching for a photogrammetry application for Mac.
Can anyone tell me where can I get them?

Have you tried:

VisualSFM is a GUI application for 3D reconstruction using structure from motion (SFM).
MeshLab is an open source, portable, and extensible system for the processing and editing of unstructured 3D triangular meshes.
bundler_sfm is a structure-from-motion system for unordered image collections.
123D Catch is a free app that lets you create 3D scans of virtually any object.
openMVG is a library for computer-vision scientists and especially targeted to the Multiple View Geometry community.

Several more here:

Open Source Photogrammetry: Ditching 123D Catch
http://wedidstuff.heavyimage.com/index.php/2013/07/12/open-source-photogrammetry-workflow/

and here:

Software - Photogrammetric Vision Lab
http://www.photogrammetric-vision.com/software.html


applescript - How to convert youtube link text to embed html text? i want to convert 'youtube link text (from clipboard)'
to
'youtube title and embed html text'
and
copy to clipboard

With Applescript

for example,

I copy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBGaO89cBMI

into clipboard

run a applescript
then the text (Title and EmbedHTML)

Radiohead - Lift

copied into clipboard

This first AppleScript script performs based on the steps outlined in your question.

tell current application
    set theURL to the clipboard
    if theURL contains "youtube" then
        try
            set theVideoID to do shell script "sed -e 's#.*=##'<<<" & the quoted form of theURL
            set theVideoTitle to do shell script "curl -s " & theURL & " | grep 'eow-title' | sed -e 's#.*title=\"##' -e 's#\">.*##'"
            set theEmbedLinkSeg1 to "
"
            set the clipboard to theVideoTitle & theEmbedLinkSeg1 & theVideoID & theEmbedLinkSeg2
        on error
            display dialog "An error occured during processing. Check the URL and or Script Code." buttons {"OK"} ¬
                default button 1 with title "Processing Error"
            return
        end try
    else
        display dialog "The URL on the Clipboard did not contain a YouTube URL in the expected format." buttons {"OK"} ¬
            default button 1 with title "Processing Error"
        return
    end if
end tell

Assuming no error occurred, the Clipboard now contains the emebbed link information.

If by chance you're doing this in Safari, and are at the YouTube page and want to process, without having to first copy the target URL to the Clipboard and be faster then using curl, as in the first script to get the title (theVideoTitle), then the following AppleScript script is another way to go.

tell application "Safari"
    tell document 1
        set theURL to (get URL)
        set theVideoTitle to do JavaScript "document.getElementById('eow-title').innerText;"
    end tell
end tell

tell current application
    if theURL contains "youtube" then
        try
            set embedLinkSeg1 to "
"
            set theVideoID to my getVideoID(theURL)
            set the clipboard to theVideoTitle & embedLinkSeg1 & theVideoID & embedLinkSeg2
        on error
            display dialog "Please verify Safari's current tab is at YouTube with the expected URL format." buttons {"OK"} ¬
                default button 1 with title "Processing Error"
            return
        end try
    else
        display dialog "Safari's current tab is not at YouTube." & linefeed & linefeed & ¬
            "Please select the correct tab and try again." buttons {"OK"} default button 1 with title "Processing Error"
        return
    end if
end tell

on getVideoID(theTextString)
    set TID to AppleScript's text item delimiters
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {"="}
    set theTextString to text item 2 of theTextString
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to TID
    return theTextString
end getVideoID

Assuming no error occurred, the Clipboard now contains the embed link information.

If you're using Google Chrome, then change the following lines in the second AppleScript script as follows:

Change:

tell application "Safari"
    tell document 1
    set theVideoTitle to do JavaScript "document.getElementById('eow-title').innerText;"

To:

tell application "Google Chrome"
    tell active tab of window 1
    set theVideoTitle to execute javascript "document.getElementById('eow-title').innerText;"

Also change Safari's in the display dialog commands to: Google Chrome's

Note: In the first AppleScript script, getting the value of the variable theVideoID from the value of the variable theURL on the Clipboard is done using a do shell script command and sed, however it can be done using the getVideoID handler used in the second AppleScript script, as in the following:

tell current application
    set theURL to the clipboard
    if theURL contains "youtube" then
        try
            set theVideoID to my getVideoID(theURL)
            set theVideoTitle to do shell script "curl -s " & theURL & " | grep 'eow-title' | sed -e 's#.*title=\"##' -e 's#\">.*##'"
            set theEmbedLinkSeg1 to "
"
            set the clipboard to theVideoTitle & theEmbedLinkSeg1 & theVideoID & theEmbedLinkSeg2
        on error
            display dialog "An error occured during processing. Check the URL and or Script Code." buttons {"OK"} ¬
                default button 1 with title "Processing Error"
            return
        end try
    else
        display dialog "The URL on the Clipboard did not contain a YouTube URL in the expected format." buttons {"OK"} ¬
            default button 1 with title "Processing Error"
        return
    end if
end tell

on getVideoID(theTextString)
    set TID to AppleScript's text item delimiters
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {"="}
    set theTextString to text item 2 of theTextString
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to TID
    return theTextString
end getVideoID

Assuming no error occurred, the Clipboard now contains the emebbed link information.


How could I delete DCIM sub folders in iphone I am using my windows laptop to move my photos from my iphone. After I moved all of the folders named  100APPLE to 104APPLE, I want to delete those folders in my iphone storage under DCIM folder. But when I tend to delete it there is a error. I did not disconnect my iphone or interrupted it. It just shows every time i want to delete the folders.

Here is the screenshot from my laptop

Is there any way to delete those folders? I already copied it in my laptop. I just want to free some space from my iphone.

Thanks.

You simply can't delete them.

Your only option is to delete the subfolders/the images themselves. They need to be there, iOS does not allow you to delete them, therefore Windows shows an error message.

Why would you want to delete the folders anyway? If they contain the images, go ahead and delete those, but deleting a simple folder gives you basically no further storage at all.

This has been discussed on the Apple Forum as well.


automatically set alarm clock on iPhone if calendar event Is there any way to automatically set the alarm clock on my iPhone if my calendar has an event in the morning?  The calendar events are being added from a variety of platforms via Google calendar, and I'd like there to automatically be an alarm on the phone (if the event is in the morning.)

Thanks

There is a app on iTunes that might do just what you want.

Calarm: Calendar Alarm Clock
By squishLogic

For $1 it is worth trying.

This app will automatically wake you up every day before your first calendar event and alert you about events during the day.

•

Alarms for all calendar events, including all-day and birthdays
• Ability to cancel specific alarms
• Ability to mute specific alarms
• Ability to change alert time for specific alarms
• Quick alarms - great for naps
• Send Quick alarms as a reminder to a friend
• No need to customize events
• No need to open the calendar app
• Select which calendars make alarms
• Adjustable wake up time
• Separate time interval for daytime events
• Reads calendar app, so no internet connection is needed
• Snooze any event
• 5-15 minute adjustable snooze interval
• Shows event on the lock screen with time until event and location
• Confirmation tab listing all scheduled alarms for the week
• View that shows events for a given day
• Control alarms for busy or free events
• 20 different alarm sounds
• Set up behaviors to better customize to your needs
• 12/24 hour clock
• Control event behavior from notes
• See alarm location, time, end time, and calendar
• Alarms can be defaulted to on, off, or muted
• Alarms can be set to sound until you dismiss them


Would MacBook Air 2018 handle a constant run of a Windows VM for the Development My work involves having both Mac and Windows on a laptop.
While I need Mac for Xcode, I do some ASP.NET stuff tightly coupled with the Windows ecosystem.

I wonder if a MacBook Air CPU with 16 GB RAM would be enough to handle VMware Fusion with a couple of Visual Studio instances and debugging ASP.NET sites with the database on local MS SQL server?

There is an option of getting 13" MacBook Pro for a performance boost but I am frustrated with the touchbar as it's harder to use it with my fingers muscle memory. I'd like to avoid it as much as possible.

In general, MacBook Air's can handle run anything constantly, that they can handle running for a short while. You cannot "overwork" the computer so to say - it won't suddenly break or stop working for that reason.

And yes, MacBook Air's in general can handle running VMware Fusion (if the model you have is supported by VMware Fusion). You decide yourself how much RAM you dedicate to the virtual machine, when setting it up - so 16 GB will make it possible to run multiple virtual machines.

If you want to have a clearer idea of the amount of RAM needed, you'll need to setup the system you want and check how much RAM it uses.


Why Apple watch 4 has not enabled ECG feature for the countries other than US? I have an Apple watch series 4 which comes with built-in ECG feature then Why it does not have that? Is there any problem? Is there anything to do with Location?

The ECG function requires approval from the relevant regulators in the region, which takes time to acquire.

  In the US, Apple worked with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a number of years to receive De Novo classification for the ECG app and the irregular heart rhythm notification, making the features available over the counter. The ECG app and irregular rhythm notification are now CE marked and cleared in the European Economic Area.

https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2019/03/ecg-app-and-irregular-rhythm-notification-on-apple-watch-available-today-across-europe-and-hong-kong/

The functionality is available outside the US, namely…

  Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, US and US Virgin Islands


Photos won't let me edit anything / Same problem on Sierra So (my mom) is trying to edit photos in OS X El Capitan's Photos app and can't seem to do so, all the options are just greyed out. This is true of all the photos in the app.

I looked around online and found a couple of people who had the same issue but no-one ever seemed to have solved it.

I was having the same problem.  I do notice a (barely visible against light background) exclamation mark in a circle in the lower right corner of the photo, which indicates that my disk is full. (I'm using apple cloud storage.)  So that could be it.


Create keyboard shortcuts for menu bar items that don't have shortcuts? How can I create a keyboard shortcut for something that doesn't have a keyboard shortcut? Example, I use Airparrot to mirror my iMac to my Apple TV. I'd like to assign a keyboard shortcut to the airparrot menu selection that enables display mirroring to my TV. That way I can just use a remote on my iphone while I'm sitting on my couch to mirror my iMac remotely, without having to go upstairs to the computer and back down. Any ideas?

To me airplay mirroring is pointless if you can't enable it remotely.

The easiest way to create a shortcut is to open Automator and record the action that you want and save it as a service. Then go to that service in service preferences and establish your preferred keyboard shortcut.


Login hangs on spotlight and no network is available After upgrading to Lion, I boot up and most of my icons don't appear on the right side of the top menu bar and when I hover over spotlight, I get the spinning pinwheel and there's no network access.  The preferences open up fine but when I click on network, it hangs.

The only way I can get around it is to reboot while holding down the shift key.

I read about a fix (that didn't work for me) that clears the font caches by executing:

atsutil databases -removeUser
atsutil server -shutdown
atsutil server -ping

And another fix suggestion that said to use FontNuke & check the "Reset Spotlight" and "Repair Permissions" boxes before clicking "Nuke Font Caches".  However, FontNuke isn't available yet for Lion.

Has anyone else had this problem and found a way to fix it?

Update: The new version of FontNuke is out yet it didn't fix my problem.  Still SOL.

Anyone see this and have any ideas?

You can turn off Spotlight indexing for the whole hard drive in System Preferences -> Spotlight.
Then after rebooting turn it on again, and Spotlight will re-index.

My problem is that I'm having this problem every other or every third reboot.


App for eye-friendly eBook reading on iMac or MacBook? Is there any program that allows a user to read eBooks or PDFs in a way that does not bother the eyes, pretty much like what Kindle does? Maybe by reducing the illumination of the monitor and using some other tricks?

What you are asking is impossible, I'm afraid. The Kindle uses a different type of technology for its screen called "e-ink" or electronic paper:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper

whereas laptops (and iPhones, iPads) have backlit LCD screens.

The essential difference is that the Kindle screen is lit by the light reflected off it - the same as a printed page - this makes it more relaxing on your eye to read.

There is no software way of achieving this on a Mac - you'd need an entirely new screen!

There have been rumours that Apple own some e-ink patents but nothing has come of this so far.


Blurred Lines on screen, then computer shuts off 9 months ago, my Macbook Pro 13in (2012) had blurred lines on the screen and  would immediately shut down. I went to Apple Care and they quoted me $700 to fix the issue, which I think they said was the logic board.  Today, I reset the NVRAM/PRAM by pressing Command + Option + R + P and it's been an hour and the computer is working just fine. Is it likely that the logic board is the real problem and is it work investigating/replacing myself? I am about to gift this laptop to kid who needs it for school and I don't want to give him a broken laptop. Thank you in advance.

I went to Apple Care and they quoted me $700 to fix the issue, which I think they said was the logic board...Is it likely that the logic board is the real problem?

If apple ran in house diagnostics on the machine and told you that you had a faulty logic board, then the logic board needs to be replaced. The issue could specifically be the with the integrated graphics component of your CPU, but it's a moot point since it still requires that the logic board needs replacement.

This is a hardware issue for which no troubleshooting can ameliorate the problem or make it disappear. This problem will only get worse; inevitably (and without warning) the logic board will completely die and the computer will not boot.

  Is it worth investigating/replacing myself?

That's subjective. According to iFixit, the OEM part costs either $400 or $600 dollars depending on which processor you have. In addition, factor in the cost of necessary tools and difficulty of fixing it. Draw your decision based on the cost/benefit of doing it yourself vs. taking it to Apple.

Best of luck.


how to view how many times a person downloaded an app I noticed that the iTunes purchase history only shows the first time you downloaded an app, and doesn't show every time, it was redownloaded. Is there a way to view how many times, or the most recent time an app was redownloaded in my account?

You can actually see your purchase history inside iTunes. There is a link called 'See All', which will let you see all purchases.

Refer this from Apple


How do I get "get-iplayer" to use an already installed ffmpeg? I'm following these instructions (scroll down to "Manual Installation") to manually install get-iplayer Terminal command (don't want to use brew):

I see that this requires (and talks you through--partly) the install of ffmpeg and AtomicParsley.

I already installed ffmpeg weeks ago for another purpose so I really don't want another install of ffmpeg if I can do without it. (Can I?)

How can I proceed without installing another copy of ffmpeg?

I would reccomend installing Homebrew and running brew install ffmpeg. That way you can delete the other one, because Homebrew installs it in /usr/local/bin so you won't have to worry about path issues.

To install from the source you've already got:
From this page:

cd ~/Downloads/ffmpeg to go to the FFMPEG directory

./configure along with your needed flags. You probably won't need anything additionally for what you're doing.

make and then sudo make install. Be sure to type your admin password.


booting an iBook from a live linux usb drive I have a live usb image that seems to run on my lenovo thinkpad that I'd like to get to work on an old iBook (Model A1007). Things I have tried so far

1) Just turning the computer on with the usb in the usb drive.
2) Holding the option key while restarting the computer
3) Following these instructuions:
http://ben-collins.blogspot.com/2010/08/booting-your-ibook-g4-from-usb-stick.html

but replaced all instances of "txbi" to "yaboot"

First

In this case I booted while holding down Cmd + Option + O + F
and typed:

 boot ud:,\\yaboot

This brings up a circle with a line through it icon.
Maybe this means it failed to boot from the usb device so I tried the alternative walk though after a restart and the same key combenation:

 > dev usb0

which returned

  dev usb0 ok

then

 > ls

returned

ff9a6d98: /disk@1
ok

then

 > dev disk@1

returned

> dev disk@1 ok

then

 pwd

returned

pwd /pci@f2000000/usb@18 ok

then

 boot /pci@f2000000/usb@18/disk@1:,\\yaboot

returned

boot /pci@f2000000/usb@18/disk@1:,\\yaboot can't open :/pci@f2000000/usb@18/disk@1:,\\yaboot

Does this suggest a problem with my usb drive? Or perhaps I am doing something wrong with this attempted way of booting from a usb. Any suggestions?

A quick search for Lenovo ThinkPad shows these machines use Intel processors. I believe your iBook uses a PowerPC processor. So one would expect the USB flash drive to fail to work with your iBook, if you can boot using the ThinkPad.

Appendix

Ubuntu PowerPC FAQ

Lubuntu 16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus)

Ubuntu MATE 16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus)

  Note: iBook (Model A1007) shipped with 256 MB of RAM. This is expandable to a maximum of 640 MB.


Is there a "permalink" for Sierra at the App Store? Upgrading, but I'd rather stick with Sierra until MacPorts is ready for High Sierra.

In the App Store purchased tab, I see OS X Mavericks and the rest of the set, but I never installed Sierra. If I search for one version in particular, either it doesn't come up or I'm sent directly to High Sierra.

How do I search for the entry for Sierra (and exclude High Sierra) on the App Store? Do releases have any sort of "permalink"?

Relevant:

Modify "Release date" in the featured tab. There is no such thing.
Downloading a release older than the current is no longer allowed (?).
Another hint that this may not be possible. That would be very frustrating. High Sierra is useless for me until MacPorts for High Sierra comes out. (How long that will take is a separate question.)

Yes - Contrary to past OS releases, Apple has an article with links to the store and detailed requirements for getting and installing macOS Sierra (even after High Sierra is out).

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208202 -  How to download macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra Installer on the Mac App Store

I would use the help article HT20802 to check for an updated link if the Mac App Store one fails you, but the one above is live now on the store.


iPhone Activation lock with an unknown Apple ID I broke my iPhone 4s while I was travelling. So, I put it in my locker. I repaired it yesterday and connected it to iTunes. Unfortunately, My iPhone activated Activation Lock. Only one way to enter my Apple ID is to reset my password but, there is email that i don't know. It looks like g*****@m*****.com. g***** should be my email and I don't remember signing up with this kind of email.

What should I do?

You should go to Apple as they can bypass the iCloud lock with proof that you are the owner of the said iPhone.


MBP first generation Service Battery My MacBook Pro is throwing me a message "Service Battery" and coconutBattery tells me I have 4007 mAh instead of 5450 mAh.

Is there a way to pump it back up or is that impossible?

I was looking around on the Internet but the Apple Store does not display a built-in MacBook Pro 13 inch battery.

Should I replace mine? And if so, where is the best place to look for since Apple does not have them theirselves?

Battery degradation is normal, and seeing that your battery is almost 4 years old has went through 820 cycles, you battery retention is still quite good. Degradation of battery is irreversible.

If you really want to get a fresh battery, you can take it to an Apple store. It'll cost somewhere around $150.

Apple replace defective notebook battery only within 3 years of purchase with AppleCare, so you wouldn't get that benefit.


how to have the same gradient fill background on all slides How do you change the background gradient fill for all slides. I created a nice gradient fill for the first slide and I need it to come across all of the slides for the presentation. thank you

1) You have to edit a "Master Slide" (menu: View -> Show Master Slides).

2) Then Edit the master slide (you can duplicate it if you don't want to touch the original).

3) This automatically applies to all the slides.

See how the Slide 1 has now a gradient, even tho I have modified a Master Slide.

Play around (and Google) Master Slides in Keynote and you will likely understand how it works.


Do standard rectangle USB to Thunderbolt 2 cables exist? Do standard rectangle USB to Thunderbolt 2 cables exist?
I want to use my Thunderbolt 2 ports to connect a standard USB hub.
Thanks!

Thunderbolt 2 is an active connector so even though USB is able to be embedded in the data lines, you would need a full thunderbolt chip to establish that link.

Kanex makes amazingly reliable and fairly priced hardware in my experience:

-https://www.amazon.com/Kanex-Thunderbolt-eSATA-plus-Adapter/dp/B00LOLBBQQ

Also, look for used or fire sale full docks, since they are much less expensive now that Thunderbolt3 / USB 4 is the new hotness for adapters and docks - the older ones might be available as people upgrade to the latest.


Can Word documents from Mac be opened in Windows? I received MacBook Air for Christmas. I am a university student, and use Word for essay writing. It seems that this MacBook has 'Pages'. I post my essays online through a specific way, as they calculate if my work is acceptable etc. I don't know if my lecturers will be able to open the essay documents, especially if I've typed it from this laptop.

Is there any way I can make sure they will be able to access my work? Do I need to buy specific office sources, or will this be ok to use?

Knowing that you are a student, you can download Microsoft Office for Mac for free from the Microsoft website (only your university email address will be necessary).

This will provide access to your work from your new MacBook Air.


Read GnuPG encrypted emails transperently on iOS Are there any tools that integrate OpenPGP/GnuPG with the mail reader on iOS

I've heard that iPGMail and oPenGP, probably SecuMail too, all require that you copy & paste an encrypted email into the application, which sounds obnoxious.  Any of these tools managed to actually integrate with iOS's mail reader the way GPGTools does on OS X yet?

Yes, I'm aware Apple's Mail readers support S/MIME, but that's less secure in practice.

Do you need to use Copy & Paste with PGP/GPG mail?

No, that is not required.  For iPGMail:

Click the encrypted attachment to open it - you see the encrypted
text.
Click on the transfer button (at top right).
Open in iPGMail.
Enter your pgp password and see the unencrypted message.

Do any of the tools integrate like GPGTools on OS X?

This is impossible given Apple's sandboxing requirements.  As an aside this may well be a good thing as it avoids the annual scramble by GPG developers when Apple updates OS X and its Mail app.


JSON viewer for OS X I am looking for a JSON viewer for OS X that can:

open decently large files (e.g. > 10 MB), unlike the JSON Editor Eclipse Plugin  (take over 1 minute to generate the treeview for a 500 KB JSON file) and Json Tools Eclipse Plugin (no outline generated if file is more than a few MBs but otherwise great and fast)
has a decently responsive UI, unlike JSON Viewer for Windows
can collapse/expand a given level (treeview / outline)
works off-line

Ideally:

tabs
gratis
can edit JSON data
displays the filename somewhere, unlike JSON Viewer for Windows
provide some statistics on the JSON content

Jsoneditor is a browser-based editor that you can deploy locally or use the ad-sponsored online version provided by the author. It's handy for small JSON files, and I find it the easiest and most feature-full. It will highlight broken json, but it's not a 100% compatible validators like https://jsonlint.com/ because, for example, it treats raw tabs as valid within strings although this is not allowed by the JSON spec.

JSONMate seems to be a usable open-source project with an online editor which probably won't be able to handle large files, but you can fork it on github, adapt to your needs and run it locally.

Intellij Idea and derivatives have decent JSON support but large files take time to load.

SublimeText is also usable for JSON if you install the plugins for beautifying and extra features.

For windows XMLMarker does a good job as an XML and JSON visualizer, but the last version which added JSON support is a limited trial.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of these tools and projects.


What are the various auto launch paths mean in OSX? I'm trying to track down sneaky apps that launch upon reboot. They are not in System Preferences > Users and Groups > Login items and the in-app preferences for auto starting is disabled too for them. I did find them here:

~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/System/Library/LaunchAgents
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons

What do each folder mean? Does removing the file from here simply mean the OS is won't find it on startup?

The items in the /LaunchAgents and /LaunchDaemon folders are launchd property list files that configure those background tasks.  Files in the local and user Library folders would be for items that have been installed for all users or a particular user, respectively, while those in the System folder are, well, part of the system, and really shouldn’t be messed with.  Usually you would use launchctl to load or unload daemons and agents.


Reading from a GUI

For anything that's system related you can typically use the Console application to view their contents. Here I've launched the application and navigated to the /var/log/DiagnosticMessages directory and then selected one of the ASL files, 2019.03.11.asl:

If you're in a terminal you can launch Console directly like so:

$ open -a console

Reading files from the CLI

If you'd rather read these files from the terminal, you can use either the Python library, asl and write your application to process them or you can use the syslog CLI tool to read them.

For example:

$ syslog -f /var/log/DiagnosticMessages/2019.03.11.asl | head -20
NOTE:  Most system logs have moved to a new logging system.  See log(1) for more information.
Mar 11 00:01:10 unagi Finder[564] <Notice>:
Mar 11 00:01:40 unagi Google Chrome[7050] <Debug>:
--- last message repeated 1 time ---
Mar 11 00:06:42 unagi corebrightnessd[109] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 1 time ---
Mar 11 00:06:45 unagi ControlStrip[506] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 4 times ---
Mar 11 00:16:14 unagi Google Chrome[7050] <Debug>:
Mar 11 00:16:18 unagi ControlStrip[506] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 2 times ---
Mar 11 00:17:27 unagi corebrightnessd[109] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 1 time ---
Mar 11 00:17:34 unagi ControlStrip[506] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 5 times ---
Mar 11 00:24:06 unagi esets_daemon[280] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 6 times ---
Mar 11 00:24:18 unagi ControlStrip[506] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 1 time ---
Mar 11 00:26:35 unagi corebrightnessd[109] <Notice>:
--- last message repeated 2 times ---

References

How to View the System Log on a Mac

Retrieving Console logs on Mac
Reading ASL log file - Python


Does the DNS service need to be on in order for the caching service to work on OS X Server? I didn't think that caching needed the DNS service to be running in order for it to work. Is this true/false? I've been reading a lot of forums where it says you should get the server DNS right in order to make sure all the other services work but I just wanted to make sure.

It depends:

If you plan to provide the Caching Service to clients with public IP addresses (in other words, not behind a NAT) that are not on the server’s same subnet, you need to create a TXT DNS record in your zone file for the server with the IP address ranges the server is responsible for. Source

If you plan to provide Caching Service in all or any combinations or portions of subnets of the local network that share a common public IP address you don't need a DNS-Server.

Please check the limitations of the Caching Service here.


Connecting from iOS to macOS using ssh Because of the OpenSSH iOS tweak and NewTerm (my phone is jailbroken), I'm able to connect from my computer to my phone using ssh:

$ ssh mobile@myphonesip
mobile@myphonesip's password:
myphonesname~ mobile$

This is pretty great and all, but I would also like to connect to my computer from my phone using ssh. I've set up a ssh key on my mac, but this is what I get when trying to connect to it from my phone:

$ ssh myusername@mycomputersip
ssh: connect to host mycomputersip port 22: Connection refused

I've also tried connecting to root because I have that set up:

$ ssh root@mycomputersip
ssh: connect to host mycomputersip port 22: Connection refused

TJ Luoma suggested that I might have to start ssh on my computer with this:

sudo launchctl start com.openssh.sshd

I did that and tried to connect again.

I've also enabled remote login in system preferences.

I've tried with my firewall disabled. I've also disabled Stealth Mode. Does anyone have an idea of how I can connect to my computer from my phone?

Update: something has made this work (remote login I think), but when I try to connect, I get this:

$ ssh root@mycomputersip
The authenticity of host 'mycomputersip (mycomputersip)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:verylongstringofnumbersandletters.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added 'mycomputersip' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
Password:
Password:
Password:
root@mycomputersip's password:
Permission denied, please try again.
root@mycomputersip's password:
Received disconnect from mycomputersip port 22:2: Too many authentication failures
Authentication failed.

or this:

$ ssh myusername@mycomputersip
ssh: connect to host mycomputersip port 22: Host is down

or this:

$ ssh myusername@mycomputersip
ssh: connect to host mycomputersip port 22: Operation timed out

and when I try to connect to my phone I either get this:

$ ssh root@myphonesip
root@myphonesip's password:
Authentication failed.

or this:

$ ssh mobile@myphonesip
ssh: connect to host myphonesip port 22: Operation timed out

Something is really screwy right now. I can only connect to my phone sometimes through terminal. I know that ssh is working though because I can connect to my phone using Mountain Duck perfectly fine.

Using the GUI

This is the easier way to do it:

Go to System Preferences.app then go to "Sharing" and then enable "Remote Login"

Using the Command Line:

If you insist on using the command line, I think the command you're looking for is:

sudo launchctl start com.openssh.sshd

I think the syntax may vary somewhat if you are using an older version of macOS you are running, but I don't remember when that might have changed, so I can't say for sure.


iPhone SE - force rebooting gets into a loop My situation is a bit complicated.
I have an iPhone SE with iOS 9.3.5.
I connected my iPhone to a rental car's audio system and something bad happened. The lock button stopped working and it is spontaneously "clicked" (software-wise) randomly. Sometimes I even get the turn-off screen that is usually displayed after a long lock-click, expect I don't press anything.
I've tried to do a force-reboot (holding the lock and home buttons for a few seconds), the iPhone get turned off, but then immediately it gets into a loop, and the only way to get it to load is to connect it to a power source. This happens also after I simply turn it off (using the accessibility software solution).
I now back-upped the phone to my iTunes, and deleted all of the data so it'll be new-like but this did not help the problem. All of the above symptoms are still happening.
Any ideas on what else I could do?

I don't think this is related to plugging into the rental car.

I also have (had) an iPhone SE and it experienced the exact same problems.  I took it in and was told the sleep/wake button on top was bad.  The repair place told me they don't bother repairing these models anymore because the parts are very hard to find; this model has a bad problem with this type of button failure.  If you google it you'll see.

I ended-up going to Best Buy and they recycled it for free.  I think you're out of luck unless you can find a place to repair it.


Macbook Pro 13 2017 suddenly shutdown then stuck at apple logo I have a Macbook Pro 13-inch, 2017 model, and an original OS. I'm currently using Mojave. I updated two weeks ago and everything seems running smoothly. But last night, my Macbook just suddenly shuts down and it was stuck on apple logo with no loading or progress bar. First, I waited for 10 minutes when I rebooted. Then I noticed that my Macbook is hot. So I turned it off. Then I tried the following methods when rebooting:

Used CMD + R, but it doesn't go to recovery mode.
Used CMD + Option + R, nothing happens after recovery using internet.
Used Shift to enter safe mode, it doesn't go to safe mode.
Used CMD + Option + P + R, it doesn't fix anything. Still stuck at apple logo.
Used CMD + S, I just showed a verbose mode and the line said "End RandomSeed"
Used CMD + V, the last line prompted "End RandomSeed" and then freezes.
Pressed D, but nothing was seen defective in hardware.

Tried every solution using the combination keys, but nothing worked. I need your help in fixing this. What are the possible solutions in my problem?

Let me re-post all the hard work you did with the results and add some more you can try.

- Used CMD + R, but it doesn't go to recovery mode.
 - Used CMD + Option + R, nothing happens after recovery using internet.
 - Used Shift to enter safe mode, it doesn't go to safe mode.
 - Used CMD + Option + P + R, it doesn't fix anything. Still stuck at apple logo.
 - Used CMD + S, I just showed a verbose mode and the line said "End RandomSeed"
 - Used CMD + V, the last line prompted "End RandomSeed" and then freezes.
 - Pressed D, but nothing was seen defective in hardware.

Try following since it is still alive and "working" but not passing the End RandomSeed:

Disconnect all external devices
Hold Option key at reboot
Boot from USB
Do cool it down in the Fridge (not a joke)

Here is some background info. The End RandomSeed supposedly has to with failed RAM check.


Can I have two apps running split screen on an iPad? Is there any way and have there been any examples of split-screening two apps on iPad so, for example, I can be scrolling through a PDF or PPT and simultaneously be typing notes about it in a text editor with an external keyboard?

You'd have to have one app that does both the displaying and input, and I know of no apps like that.

There is no provision for split-screening apps, even iPhone apps. The best you'll be able to do is fast app switching.


error building phpsh from terminal I am following the instructions on the phpsh github page
I navigate to the phpsh directory and run

python setup.py build

and I get this error

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "setup.py", line 13, in <module>
    p = Popen(["make", "-C", make_dir])
  File "/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/subprocess.py", line 679, in __init__
  File "/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/subprocess.py", line 1228, in _execute_child
OSError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory

it seems the files in my python directory actually end in pyo...

not sure what to do about this

Open terminal and type which make to see that you have minimal compiler tools installed.

If not, download Xcode from the App store and have it install the command line tools.


Scrolling in Terminal when program is opened in MacOS Sierra After I upgraded to Sierra from Mavericks I noticed that when I open something in Terminal with for example less or vi and I want to scroll back to see previous lines the scrolling happens inside the programs. How can I change it back to 'just scroll'?

Thanks!

You can scroll the screen while holding fn or Shift ⇧ key.

You can disable this completly by unthicking:

Terminal Preferences → Profiles → Keyboard → Scroll Alternate Screen.


Is there a keyboard shortcut to fully hide all windows, showing only desktop? Is there a keyboard shortcut to fully hide all windows, showing only desktop?

(I know that the trackpad gesture four-fingers-up will sweep them all out of the way, i think it's an expose function. I was hoping for a full "hide" of them all instead.)

thanks!

⌘+H Hides the windows of the currently running application.

⌥+⌘+H Hides the windows of all other running applications.


How do I resize the iOS simulator? I know that there's Window>Scale>100/75/50% but the scale of the retina iPad simulator is still too big for my screen to be able to test anything.

Is there a way I can scale the size of the iOS simulator smaller than one of the default values? I need it to scale down at least to 25% for my screen size to accommodate the window.

You can't. I've been an iOS software developer for two years and I haven't been able to find a way do this. I have tried to find solutions to this but came up with nothing. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'm 99% certain there's no way to do this.

When my screen is too small I use 50% scale window, which is ought to be enough until I hook up my big monitor again at home.

EDIT: As of Xcode 9, you can resize it to any way you want from the corner of the simulator.


Why does Apple swap the @ and " keys? On an English windows keyboard one finds the " above the 2 and the @ near the enter key on the right. On a standard English mac keyboard, as built into my macbook for instance, the two have their positions switched.

Why does this difference exist? Is it Apple which switched the two or was it Microsoft/IBM/whoever? Is there any rationale behind it or is it just down to the two evolving independently?

A bit broad, but…

It is highly region-dependent.
There is also no such thing as a "standard" English keyboard. The two main types are US English, which is based on the ANSI standard & the UK English, which is based on the ISO standard.
The most immediately obvious differences are the Enter key & the key left of Z…

US English - ANSI

British English - ISO

pics from Apple KB - How to identify keyboard localizations
These major physical differences also apply to PC keyboards.

Having " above the 2 is a UK English PC layout [one that drives me mad, even though I'm a Brit, I am simply used to @ being above 2 after 30 years of using Macs;)

US English does it the Apple way, even on Windows, so you could argue that it's the British PC layout that is "wrong", but in the end it's what you get used to.

If you change your keyboard layout in System Prefs > Keyboard > Input Sources to British PC, you will get your " & @ back to where you like them - however, it will also move other 'peripheral' keys to where a British PC has them, such as \ | ~ etc

Image showing British PC layout with Shift held.


See connected device log on iTunes? is it possible to see a history list of devices I have connected to my computer on iTunes so far? The other day I connected a device and I would like to see if that was logged somewhere.

In researching this there does not appear to be any logs or details within iTunes that will show a list of devices that have been connected to iTunes. You can view the list of devices associated with the AppleID account and the list of devices associated with iTunes and that's about it.

Guidances from Apple on this:

  You can have ten devices (no more than five of them computers)
  associated with your Apple ID and iTunes at one time.

And this:

  The list of associated devices that you can view in iTunes is not
  the same as the list of devices that you're currently signed in to
  with your Apple ID. You can check your Apple ID device list to see
  where you're signed in on your Apple ID account page.

  You don't need to associate your devices to buy content or download
  new purchases. You can remove an associated device if:

  You reach your limit of associations and want to add a new one.
  You can't download past purchases from the iTunes Store.
  You want to sell or give away an associated device.

References

View and remove your associated devices in iTunes


Is there a way to navigate or filter Launchpad using type-selection? Launchpad quickly becomes a mess once you have many apps installed. Especially seeing the fact that stuff like 'Microsoft Silverlight' (which you most likely will never run manually, but runs as a plugin) hooks itself into the Launchpad as well.

I have a couple of 'Crap' and 'Stuff' folders in which I store apps like these. Still, I'd like to navigate my Launchpad faster. When a person opens Launchpad, he/she usually knows what app he/she wants to start; it would be a lot easier if I'd be able to press the first character of this app, and Launchpad would automatically create a custom filtered screen for me.

Apparently, there is no such feature, but are there perhaps any plans to integrate this into OS X in a later stage? If not, are there any plugins that might be able to do this?

I guess you can just forgo launchpad and try Alfred. It's navigated by keyboard anyway, so you can configure it to just show apps when you type something into the bar. Because, as you said, a user probably knows the app their searching for, theres not really a point to look at a grid of all the options in Launchpad, when you know you are only going to need one.


iTunes library .xml vs. .itl I have iTunes 12.6. I read that after 12.2 iTunes doesn't create .xml to store playlists. Is the .itl the same thing?  Will it have my playlists?  I tried importing the library.itl to my new computer, but nothing happened.  How do I get my playlists to a new computer when using iTunes 12.2 or later?

It sounds like the reason you've run into problems is that you've tried to manually migrate across your iTunes data from your Time Machine Backup.

Without knowing exactly what you did, if you copied the entire iTunes folder from your TM backup to your new Mac, one thing you can try is to tell iTunes where that folder was copied to. To do this you would:

Open iTunes
Go to iTunes > Preferences (or just press command,)
Select the Advanced tab
Now you'll see an option where you can set your iTunes Media Folder location

Migration Assistant

Since you're migrating to a new Mac, you'd probably be better off starting again and using Migration Assistant to transfer all your data across. This will give you the option of migrating what you choose from a Time Machine backup or directly from your other Mac (if you have a way of connecting to it). Migration Assistant also provides other options.

To use Migration Assistant:

On your new Mac, open Migration Assistant (by default it's in your Applications > Utilities folder)
If you happen to have another user logged in, you'll be prompted to log them out first. If not, you'll see an Introduction screen instead.
Click on Continue
You may be prompted to enter your password - if so enter it and click OK
You'll now be asked how you'd like to transfer your data.
Select the option applicable to you (most likely the first one which allows you to transfer from a Time Machine backup)
Click Continue
Follow the prompts to migrate the data you want

Note: This process may take some time.

For more information see Move your content to a new Mac.


Did you have issues using a Microsoft 4000 keyboard with your Mac? When I had a iMac (about 3 years ago), I tried connecting my Microsoft 4000 keyboard to it and I remember that there were some issues with key mappings.

I do like Mac keyboards, but at times I like the more relaxing feel of my 4000.

Is it possible to make the keys match 1:1 so there is no difference between which keys I press for each keyboard?

The only issues I had (on Lion) were with the Microsoft drivers not retaining their settings between reboots. It seems the drivers were vastly improved (no more kernel panics) since you've tried them; see David Röthlisberger's article.

Other than that, I think the ergonomic part is well worth the trouble of getting the 4000 set-up properly. And with KeyRemap4Macbook you can get almost limitless customizability.


AppleShowAllFiles does not show hidden files I use OS X 10.8, I type the following

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
killall Finder

but still I cannot see any hidden files like .bash_history, .Trash, .cups, .gem etc. in user directory.

The bundle identifier is com.apple.finder in lowercase.

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES would also write the setting as a string, but it doesn't usually matter though.

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
osascript -e 'quit app "Finder"'


How do I tell an iOS device there's no internet connection on the Wifi? I've setup a WiFi network to allow iOS devices (such as my iPad) to connect to other devices on the local network, but I want to be able to use the 3G functionality on my iPad at the same time to connect to the internet. How can I setup the WiFi so that the iOS device doesn't think there's an internet connection through it?

I've tried setting the DHCP Gateway to 0.0.0.0 but this just seems to confuse the iPad - the spinning circle next to the Wifi network never disappears even though it has an IP address from the DHCP server.

Update:
I was able to set the DHCP Gateway to 0 and the Router entry now appears as blank, but the spinning circle still doesn't disappear.

Update:
Setting the DHCP Gateway to 0 or 0.0.0.0 works fine for Windows, Android and Windows Mobile so I'm beginning to think this is an iOS bug. I've posted a question on the Apple iOS Dev forum here.

You should define a STATIC address for the WiFi/LAN. (define an correct netmask, and dont enter any router/gateway address ). (see the static tab in the @Michiel's screenshot.)

When you done, you can access the computers on WiFi network and you will access the rest of the Internet via 3G.

This is what you looking for?


OS X repeatedly stops syncing contacts and calendar with Gmail For what feels like forever (but is probably only a year or two), OS X constantly ‘loses’ my Gmail password. This is particularly annoying, because I use two-factor-authentication with my Google account, and have to go generate a new password every time I see this bug:

Even worse, I don't know there's any problem until I actually open the Contacts application (a thing I never do). I'll get text messages on my Mac, and wonder who the hell's messaging me, because it'll show up as a phone-number; meanwhile, I created a new contact for that person months ago on my iPhone, and it turns out Google hasn't synced to my computer in that entire time.

I clear all the Google/Gmail entries out of my keychain, generate a new one-use password with Google, and put it in OS X, every time I see this. It just happens again a couple months later.

Does anybody know what could be causing this?

Usually an easy fix is to remove the google account from your mac all together so that all info is taken off. Then re-add the account from scratch, it should resync everything and this usually stops it constantly asking for the password.


How to reactivate a iPhone 5s which was originally activated from another account (Device already removed from previous iCloud)? I bought my iPhone 5s about 3 days ago.Once i bought it i activated the phone from one of my friend's AppleID and password , because i needed to check if the phone functions well, before i leave the shop.but then after when i got back home i made a new apple account and used the phone with that account.

But since my phone is activated from my friend's iCloud i logged into account from his appleID and password. then i removed the device from his account. Then i erased the phone then rebooted it and setup a new i phone  with my AppleID and iCloud but still my phone is NOT Activated in my new account??

can someone please help me to activate my phone from my new account????

A full set of instructions are listed here: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13695?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

In short:

you will need your friend to activate your phone at the Activation Screen during set up. The place you are stuck on.
After that, reset the device by going to Settings > General > Reset.
It will ask for your friends Apple ID details. Enter them.
Once the phone has been reset, tell your friend to remove it from
their Find my iPhone account.
Restart the device and now finally register it under your own Apple
ID.

Activation is a separate process. The device is still registered under your friend's Apple ID. And you are simply registered to use your Apple ID on the device. This is what you're getting hung up on. Resetting the device will allow you to activate it (register the device) under your own Apple ID. Signing out of your friends Apple ID in Settings does no affect device registration.

And of note: If anyone may be attempting to bypass Activation Lock fraudulently or under false pretences, this cannot be done. Apple binds registration of the device to their servers. What that means is Apple will chase that device whenever it is connected to the Internet till the ends of time. Unless you can hack into Apple's servers, there is absolutely no way to bypass Activation Lock.


how to change opencv library path How to change path of opencv library. I have installed opencv using homebrew.

But when I run some opencv code it tries to link opencv library with my older version of opencv (in error below path is /Users/Ashok/Downloads/opencv-2.4.6.1), but I have deleted this folder and reinstalled opencv using homebew.

Ashok$ python face_detection.py
OpenCV Error: Assertion failed (scn == 3 || scn == 4) in cvtColor, file /Users/Ashok/Downloads/opencv-2.4.6.1/modules/imgproc/src/color.cpp, line 3402
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "face_detection.py", line 8, in <module>
    gray = cv2.cvtColor(img, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY)
cv2.error: /Users/Ashok/Downloads/opencv-2.4.6.1/modules/imgproc/src/color.cpp:3402: error: (-215) scn == 3 || scn == 4 in function cvtColor

Have you "installed" python via homebrew. This doesn't actually install python but sets up a number of things so the built in python plays nicely with homebrew.

sudo brew install python

This fixed a couple of these sort of problems for me when getting iPython working.


Safe to allow students to access Terminal.app in a shared environment? Background:  We have a lab of Macintosh computers, all running 10.10.3 currently, that are for classroom instruction.  Students typically use their own login/password via Active Directory to log in to these machines, however guest(anonymous) access is also available.  Traditionally we have never previously allowed students to open/use Terminal.app as the room was used primarily for art, but recently the machines are being used for science and instructors have requested CLI access.  Students are not admins and would not be able to use sudo.

Is it safe to remove the restriction preventing students from opening Terminal.app and allow students full access to the bash shell?  Are we being over cautious? If not, what types of risks would we be exposed to/need to address prior to allowing such access?

It's important to realize that students already have other avenues of access to the bash (and other) shells. Students can download alternate terminal programs—such as iTerm—to their home directories to gain shell/CLI access. Additionally, shell scripts can be run via Automator.app.

So, especially for enterprising students, blocking the default Terminal.app hasn't bought you much from a security standpoint.

Really, whether CLI access is appropriate comes down to the intact permissions across the filesystem combined with appropriate user account settings. If the students are running as standard or managed (non-admin) accounts and filesystem permissions are intact, then that's what limits student access. Non-admin accounts shouldn't be able to run root-level tools and modify root-level configuration files.


Connected to internet and can browsing but can't play some games I have an iPhone 5s. Just like the title said, whenever my iPhone or iPad is connected to Wi-Fi I can't connect to some games like Puzzle and Dragon even though I can browse using Safari, use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram just fine. I keep getting connection error (in the game of course) whenever I open that game (not only that game actually).

I've tried changing the DNS from the default 192.168.1.1 to Google's and resetting the cache (airplane mode -> on -> off). But to no avail.

Have tried to open the game on my father's iPhone and iPad, and my sister's iPhone too. I suspect the problem is that my Wi-Fi configuration isn't compatible with iOS(?).

While my iPhone can't, my friend's Android can play the game just fine using my home's Wi-Fi network.

Please help me fix this.

Looking at your connection it does not shows full WiFi signal strength?! Why is that?, Try getting closer to the source.

After reading the game requirement, you would be connecting to they game server.

So most probably the problem is not your Internet setting but they server, since your friends Android works on your network.

Try Pinging they server to see if that works.

Reset your DNS settings to standard, thus remove any other settings but your router. The DNS should be issued by your ISP provider.

Go to Starbucks and try it there.

If not, try using a proxy server.


My MacBook Pro is not sleeping when I close the lid on battery I purchased my macbook back in 2011, and this problem just started. When I unplug and close my computer to put it in my backpack for school, it does not sleep. I take it out and its very hot and has lost a large amount of battery. My energy saver controls say it should sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity, but either way it should sleep when I close the lid. I don't have any sharing options checked or any running apps that should be keeping it awake so I have no idea what could be causing this

Have a look at this answer which indicates the commands to help you analyse if any process is blocking the sleep of your MacBook.
If nothing is blocking it, then look at :

egrep -i 'sleep|wake' /var/log/kernel.log

and look if you see a sleep line at the time you close the lid. If you don't, look at any information message in:

/var/log/kernel.log

around the instant this event should have happened.
Create a test account, close your session, and open one with this test account. Is your MacBook entering sleep when you close the lid?


Confused: Will Find My Mac work if the thief just did the hold ctrl and power button restore? Recently had my macbook pro stolen. It's a mid 2012 model with mountain lion so it can reset the OS by just by holding ctrl and the power button. I've done it many times myself so I know all they have to do is go erase the Mac HD and then reinstall OS.

I tried to use Find My Mac and it still says offline. It's been almost two weeks. I know there's a chance the thief just may not have turned it on yet but if all they did was erase my HD and reinstall OS, will Find My Mac stop working? I don't want to waste anymore time hoping to get it back if it's that easy to do so. Please help me out!

Someone please help..idk what to do. I've read on other questions that I still may have a chance, how?

It wouldn't hurt to report it stolen to your local police and to Apple, especially if you have the serial number.  If you don't have the serial number but you have the purchase details, your dealer may be able to recover the serial number.

From apple.com/au/contact:

  If you have lost or found an Apple product, contact your local
  law-enforcement agency to report it. You can also find a list of
  serial numbers associated with your Apple ID and get information about
  using Find My iPhone for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac.

Software running on the machine (About This Mac, System Information) can look at the serial number.  It is hard (but not impossible) to wipe the serial number from the machine.

I wonder what happens if the thief (or reciever of stolen goods) sets up the machine and Find My Mac.  Does Apple use the serial number, or just the user's Apple ID?


Installed mpv with Brew, but nothing in Applications I'm trying to play anime with mpv. I have heard that it's the best player for anime.

https://mpv.io/installation/

I go to the website and I see that there's homebrew.

I run brew install mpv. It seems to complete successfully. Now what?

There doesn't seem to be an mpv app I can use to open my video files in my /Applications.

If you want to have the application linked to ~/Applications, have homebrew do that.

brew linkapps mpv

Since "linkapps" is being removed (for reasons) across all brew recipes, you might instead tap the cask which drops a functioning mpv into Applications and runs more like an app than a command line tool.

brew cask install mpv


How to change scrollbar position in AppleScript? I have an AppleScript .scpt file that is assigned to a keyboard shortcut via the third-party application, FastScripts.

The script opens a specific, fixed, pre-determined URL in a new Google Chrome tab. This new tab is inserted immediately after the currently open Google Chrome tab (if Google Chrome is currently open).

Here is this code:

activate application "Google Chrome"

set myURL to "https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/12345"

tell application "Google Chrome"
    activate
    tell front window to make new tab at after (get active tab) with properties {URL:myURL}
end tell

An additional operation that I would like to implement in this script is to have the scrollbar of the opened webpage in Chrome automatically move downwards a bit. Just like the URL variable, the scroll amount is specific, fixed, and pre-determined.

I don't know the proper way to articulate a scroll amount to you in writing (and it of course varies based on one's screen resolution, monitor size, window size, and the zoom setting set in Chrome for that given page), but I can say that, for my unique environment, it is around 15% down the page. To clarify the meaning of this description, "100% down the page" would be at the lowest scrollbar position (the scrollbar can be set to this position by pressing ⌘ command  + ↓).

The exact scroll amount that I desire is probably not particularly relevant in the context of my question (considering the many aforementioned variables that may affect the scroll amount). It is simply important to note that the scroll amount is a custom figure, as opposed to being at the very top or very bottom of the page (since one can use the respective keyboard shortcut via key code in AppleScript to easily accomplish scrolling to these two locations).

I am hoping that whatever solution is suggested offers me the ability to fine-tune and adjust the desired scrollbar location, so that I can get it as close as possible to where I would scroll manually.

Based on the additional information you provided in the comments, let me offer the following example code of how I'd do it. (At least until I learned a better way.)

set myURL to "https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/12345"

tell application "Google Chrome"
    set bounds of front window to {0, 23, 1440, 850}
    tell front window to make new tab at after (get active tab) with properties {URL:myURL}
    repeat while (loading of active tab of front window is true)
        delay 1
    end repeat
    activate
    tell application "System Events"
        repeat 9 times
            key code 125 -- # Down Arrow
            delay 0.1
        end repeat
    end tell
end tell

Notes:

The value of the delay command in the repeat while ... loop can be adjusted to something more or less as you see fit based on how fast that page actually loads, you'd want to minimize the number of times the event triggers just so you don't unnecessarily over trigger the event. It's necessary for the page to finish loading, otherwise the next repeat loop will not scroll the appropriate amount. (I'm obviously using the term scroll figuratively.)
In the tell application "System Events" statement/block, you might need to adjust the number of time the repeat loop triggers. The delay command in this repeat loop is necessary otherwise the key code event, in this use case, does not register on the page properly.


Websites with heavy use of websockets skyrocket CPU usage in Safari (Problem reported to Apple Jul 5, 2019 but I got no answer as of Aug 1, 2019)

If you work for Apple please review FB6505912. I have sent to you system reports and Samples from the process.

I am experiencing a very strange bug on Safari. If I leave a webpage that uses websockets heavily, then sleep the system and turn it on back after a couple of minutes, the tab page keeps the CPU at 99.9% all the time, burning down my battery and CPU (it reaches 100ºC). I need to open Activity monitor and kill the page every single day.

This is happening to two websites, firebase.com and g1.com.br.

My system is running MacOS 10.14.6 (18G84) and Safari 12.1.2 (14607.3.9).

It's a MBP 15' i7 2018 with 32Gb of RAM.

I have already cleared the NVRAM and SMC and it didn't solve my problem. I think it's a bug from Safari itself.

Thank you, it's my first post here so let me know if you need more information.

As troubleshooting steps, I'd try the following:

Test with another browser to see what happens. If the problem isn't repeated then you're starting to isolate the issue, although I would then try a 3rd browser for good measure to see how it also behaves.
Boot into Safe Mode (see below) and test again with Safari

Boot into Safe Mode

Follow these steps to boot your MBP into Safe Mode:

Fully shut down your Mac
Restart your Mac
Immediately press the Shift key and keep it down
Let go of the Shift key when you see the login window (NOTE: If you have FileVault enabled you may need to log in twice).
Take a note of what happens (i.e. visit the sites again with Safari and try to replicate the problem)
Exit Safe Mode by restarting your Mac as normal
Test again when booted normally

Let me know how these steps went and we'll go from there.


How to schedule airplane mode? I want to schedule Airplane Mode during the night (10PM–6AM) on my iPhone.

How can I do that?

I used to turn off my previous phone (a non-smartphone). I do that especially to save some battery life.

This is possible in iOS 14 using the Shortcuts app. You have to create an automation to enable the airplane mode in the evening and another automation to disable it in the morning.
I used the following:

Create automation
At 22:30 → Airplane mode ON
Disable “Ask before running”
Finish

The same process for the morning

Create automation
At 5:30 → Airplane mode OFF
Disable “Ask before running”
Finish

Another approach.
On the other side, since many would want to schedule the Airplane during the night, I can recommend from my own experience that leaving the  devices (phone, computer, tablet), in a different room than the bedroom is a good idea.
I built this habit in the last months and I use my CASIO watch to wake me up every morning.


How do I download originals for a certain album in Photos when using “Optimize Device Storage” on iPad? I use Optimize iPad Storage in the Apple Photos app for my iPad, but sometimes I want an entire album offline to show someone. Is there a better way to do this than flicking through the photos one by one and waiting for them to download?

If this is not possible, I don't mind downloading all the photos. Selecting Download and Keep Originals doesn’t seem to download the photos until I view them.

There are actually multiple levels of download. Even when you view an image, a device-optimized version is retrieved. Only when you Edit or Share a photo is it fully downloaded from iCloud (possibly when you zoom in all the way, also).

With that being said, you can’t bulk-Edit; however, you can bulk-Share. Here are the steps that worked for me:

Go into the album you wish to download locally.
Tap Select.
Tap Select All.
Tap the Share icon in the bottom-left hand corner.
Select Email.
Wait for the Preparing progress indicator to complete. This may take a while depending on how large your album is and on the speed of your connection.
When your email is ready, Cancel out of it.

Remember that these photos are eligible for purging if your device becomes low on storage.

Note: I tried this on a relatively small album (20 photos and videos). I don’t know if your iPhone might crash attempting to share 500 photos at once.

If you choose to Download and Keep Originals, I believe your iPhone does that while your device is locked, on Wi-Fi, and has sufficient charge. It might help to have Photos as the foreground app when locking the iPhone.


Facebook Messenger App - Login Report I have a question regarding the Facebook Messenger App regarding the multiple login on different devices and some kind of report of that.

So here's what happened (I'll make it short):
I have an iPhone and an Android tablet, but I lent the tablet to one of my friends for 2 weeks. Now I am pretty sure that he read all my incoming messages because on my iPhone they were already shown as "Read by me" when I opened the Messenger app and these are the only two devices where I check my messages.

I asked him, but of course he said that he didn't read them.

Now I would like to know if there is any chance that I can see when I used the app to read messages and especially where (so that I can exclude hacking), so basically some kind of report for every read message or at least a usage report with data about my account.

Thanks for your help in advance!

From Facebook Settings (on a PC), click the 'download a copy of your Facebook data' link.  Included will be a list of login activity, amongst everything else


iPhone connects to public Wi-Fi but Mac doesn't - why? In so, so many cases my iPhone and iPad can connect to public Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi at cafes, restaurants, metros, and other free Wi-Fi in the city) but my MacBook can't.

This keeps happening after I purchased a new Mac, so it would not be a problem on individual machine but on the entire Mac.

Household Wi-Fi never experiences this discrepancy; when my Mac can't connect, neither does my iPhone. And in most cases, both can connect without any problems.

My Mac can recognize the signal, and I tap on the specific network from the list of networks available on the menu bar. However, it hangs out for a while and shows "cannot connect to the network" error or just switches to the successful connection icon but nonetheless you can't (this is the most likely case).

What makes this discrepancy occur? What can I do to have my Mac connect to the public Wi-Fi after I find my iPhone connects to it successfully? (I execute sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder but it usually doesn't resolve the problem...)

This could be related to the frequency/band the Wi-Fi is using, maybee this posts can help you:

How can I tell which band (2.4GHz or 5GHz) my iPhone's WiFi connection is on?

Can Macbook Pro handle 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies on the same wifi network without getting dropouts?


What password does OSX Server use when importing SSL certificates? I am migrating my website away from my home OSX server to a virtual Linux server, hosted within a proper data centre, and I have a problem with the SSL certificates I imported into OSX Server.

It appears to have stored the certificates into /etc/certificates however I don't know the passphrase it used to encrypted the key file.  It's not my normal account/keychain password, so I've no idea what passphrase it, or I, chose at the time.

(I have tried to get the original SSL certificates but that's not proving so easy either, but might be my only hope).

Could someone tell me how this works so I can untangle myself and use the certificates on the new website please?

It looks like OP's problem has been solved, but for the record it's actually fairly easy to get the keys from OS X Server, as long as you have admin access to the server. I'll give you two ways to do it:

Run the Keychain Access utility on the server, select "System" from the Keychains list, then "My Certificates" from the Category list under that. Select the relevant certificate on the right side of the window, then from the File menu choose "Export Items. In the export dialog, make sure the file format is set to "Personal Information Exchange (.p12)" to export both the private key and (public) certificate. It will ask for your admin name & password to get access to the keychain, then ask for a new password to encrypt the exported file with.
The certificate and associated private key are also stored (as you said) in /etc/certificates. Make sure you get both the certificate (filename ending ".cert.pem") and matching private key (".key.pem"); you might also need the cert chain (".chain.pem"), which includes your certificate and the supporting certificates that vouch for its authenticity.

The private key file will be encrypted with a randomly-generated password. No problem; in order for server services to use this key, its password is stored (in the system keychain, actually) in a retrievable form. With admin rights, you can retrieve it the same way the web server does. Use this command (replacing server.example.com with the actual domain name):

sudo /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/getsslpassphrase server.example.com:443 RSA

It'll require your admin password, then spit out what looks like a GUID. That's the encryption password for the .key.pem file.

(Note: in older versions of OS X Server, getsslpassphrase was in /etc/apache2/ instead of /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/. Adjust as needed.)


iOS - Cancel Update All in App Store I have turned off automatic download of app updates. I open the App Store and press Update All. I realize it's going to take too long or I am on the wrong data connection. I just want to stop the update all command. For now, I don’t see any way to do so. I tried turning off Wi-Fi and data. That stops the download, but leaves all queued apps for the update in an unavailable state.

Is there a way to stop all or is it just racing and press stop on each queued app for update?

Currently, there is no one button way to cancel or stop all the updates started by pressing the "Update All" button, maybe in a future release of iOS we can have a Cancel All or Pause all. Submit your feeback to Apple, here.

The current solution is to manually stop updating each app that was started updating:

First turn off your data if you are concerned with burning through metered data. Switch your iOS device into Airplane mode via Control Center
Open the App Store app, switch to the "Updates" tab.
Then tap on the download progress circle for each app that is waiting to update.


System Images with different Model Identifiers I have been tasked with creating a default system image to use to both back up and use to deploy to new systems.

After checking the stats on the 7 systems in question I've found that there are multiple model identifiers.

Would I be correct in my assumption that a system image made for one model identifier would not be useful for a system with a different identifier?

No, one image should work for all models of Mac that are compatible with that particular version of Mac OS X. A single image can be used across all kinds of Macs: MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis, Mac Pros.

So check each of your 7 Macs and identify the most recent version of Mac OS X that each Mac can run.


Switch wireless keyboard/trackpad while using iMac as external monitor I have an iMac with a pair of wireless keyboard/trackpad and another Macbook Pro (MBP). I just got a thunderbolt cable and try to use iMac as an external monitor for the MBP.

However, one problem is that, I have to press cmd+F2 on iMac. Then after that the wireless keyboard/trackpad will have problem pair with MBP using bluetooth, because it's still paired with iMac.

Is there a better way to have keyboard/trackpad easily switch between my iMac and MBP? I know two of the solutions but none of them seems to be very appealing to me:
1) Buy another pair of keyboard/trackpad just for MBP
2) Logitech got a easy-switch keyboard but no easy-switch trackpad

Any suggestion would be great. Thanks.

Check out Synergy.  It's a virtual keyboard/mouse switcher between multiple OS types.  You install the same client on each machine you want to use, and on the "master" machine (server), you configure the virtual arrangement of all the screens.

Very easy to use and set up.  I use it between multiple Macs while they're each booted into their own OS's.  The keyboard/mouse stays "connected" to the "server," so here's how you might use it for your problem:

Download and install Synergy on both machines.
Setup the iMac as the "client."
Setup the MacBook Pro as the "server."
Drag the mouse cursor to the iMac and press Command+F2.

I haven't tested this exact setup myself, but I think it might be a feasable solution.  Best of luck!


Restore deleted iTunes backup of iPhone I mistakenly deleted the latest backup for my iPhone from within iTunes preferences. How can I recover it?

I looked into ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup and it is not there anymore. Where can I find the deleted folder containing the last backup?

I have a MacBook Air running Mac OS X El Capitan and an iPhone 5C running iOS 9.3.5.

Start by looking for it in Trash. If not, than a Time Machine backup. If not, try recovering it using a recovery software. The backup folder generally contain many files with cryptic names like 0d0c1bdbcfa1d8f0cde357e7a4ab3db7783e26ff and it may not be easy to deduce the correct one out of them.


How can Disk Drill say it has recovered 2.4 TB of files when the HDD is only 2 TB? I had a serious failure on a 2TB external HDD this week. Yosemite says the drive is "not readable by this computer."

Oh well, it happens to all HDDs sooner or later.

Even though the contents could be re-downloaded from the internet, I decided to run Disk Drill to see how much I could recover.

What seems strange to me is that Disk Drill says it has "reconstructed" 2.4 TB of files.

While the HDD only has 2 TB capacity.

I'm simply curious, how is this technically possible? How can DD have reconstructed more data than could possibly have been stored on the drive? I don't require a solution to any technical problem. I'm just curious about the technical details behind this.

FWIW, prior to the failure, there was a 1 TB encrypted HFS+ Time Machine backup partition, a 600 GB HFS+ unencrypted partition, and a 400 GB unencrypted NTFS partition.

It looks like Disk Drill has found the same files multiple times.
For example, here the program says it has found four individual .iso files of  6.36 GB. In reality, the original medium only had one such file.

This would explain why the total size is several times as large as the original amount of data.


How can I set a user-specific environment variable that includes a space character? I'd like to add an environment variable for a specific account where the variable has a space. It seems that editing .bash_profile like below doesn't work:

export ENV_VAR=“/Applications/Android Studio.app“

and neither does:

export ENV_VAR=“/Applications/Android\ Studio.app“

I'm having to settle with changing the name of the application package, which isn't preferable.

export ENV_VAR="/Applications/Android Studio.app" should set the variable properly, but it's likely the program/script that uses the variable doesn't quote it properly. If if you can figure out what's using the variable, it might be possible to fix the script/program.

My first guess would be that the environment variable is used by a shell script that does something like:

somecommand $ENV_VAR/subdir/filename

The problem occurs because the shell will expand the variable, then perform word splitting -- that is, it will split /Applications/Android Studio.app/subdir/filename into two arguments: /Applications/Android and Studio.app/subdir/filename. Note that embedding escapes or quotes in the variable value doesn't do anything useful, because the shell processes quotes and escapes before performing variable substitutions. Thus, if you used export ENV_VAR="/Applications/Android\ Studio.app", it would be split into /Applications/Android\ and Studio.app/subdir/filename; if you used export ENV_VAR="'/Applications/Android Studio.app'" it would be split into '/Applications/Android and Studio.app/subdir/filename'.

The solution is to put double-quotes around the variable reference, like this:

somecommand "$ENV_VAR/subdir/filename"

which tells the shell not to perform word splitting after substitution, removing the problem.

Note that it's also possible that it's something other than a shell script, or a shell script that's doing something more complicated like using the variable to construct another variable, and possibly depending on word splitting when that variable is used.  Fixing this sort of usage can get messy.


Can't acquire DHCP with WPA2 Enterprise I have a user with a MacBook Pro (late 2013) running OS X 10.10.5 "Yosemite" that can't acquire a DHCP address from our corporate Wi-Fi. It's a WPA2 Enterprise network with Meraki on the back end. From the Meraki tools I can see him authenticate successfully but just won't accept an IP.

It's worth nothing that we have a dozen other Macs (iMacs, MBPs, Mac Minis) all connected without issue. iPhones, Android, and Windows 7/8 all connect to the same network without issue as well.

Outside of an answer, are there some tools I can use to troubleshoot this better?

I figured out the problem. I wanted to post a solution in case anybody else sees this. There was a corrupted lease in our DHCP server that this Mac kept trying to request. As a result, the two (DHCP server & Mac) went into a loop until timeout.

Fixing the DHCP database the Mac acquired an address with no issues.


Strictly limit macOS Photos library size using "Optimize Storage"? I want to use the Photos.app option "Optimize Mac Storage" to free up space on my Mac, rather than downloading my entire iCloud Photos Library to my small laptop SSD.

Is there any way to strictly limit the space given to the Photos library?

I want to give, say, 40 GB to Photos. The app can "optimize" that space as it sees fit, but I never want it to take more than 40 GB.

  iCloud Photos > Optimize Mac Storage

  If your Mac is low on space, full-resolution photos and videos are automatically replaced with smaller, device-sized versions. Full-resolution versions can be downloaded from iCloud anytime.

Limiting Photos iCloud Photos Library sizes was discussed on Accidental Tech Podcast:
https://atp.fm/334 (1:36:45)
https://atp.fm/335 (0:04:20)
https://atp.fm/410 (2:19:05)
They originally suggested using a Sparse Disk Image with a size quota.
Follow-up suggested instead using an APFS Space-Sharing volume.

Hey, others may have said this, but don’t use a sparse image for your photo library. Add an APFS volume with a 30GB quota instead. Much, much safer! (twitter)

APFS Space-Sharing Volume
In Disk Utility, select Add APFS Volume..

APFS volumes share storage space within their container.

Set a Quota Size to strictly limit the size of the new volume:

Size Options
APFS Volumes share storage space within their container. The optional reserve size ensures that amount of storage will remain available for this volume. The optional quota size limits how much storage this volume can allocate.

When you move your Photos library, your iCloud photos will only be permitted to fill this Quota Size set for the volume.

Move Photos Library
Finally, move your Photos library file to the new size-limited volume.
Quit Photos.app > Move the library file > Hold Option and relaunch Photos > Pick the library’s new location > Photos Preferences > Use as System Photo Library
How to put Photos.app main library on an external disk?
Or, start a new Photos library on the volume and allow iCloud to re-download your photos.


Any Remote Desktop software to remote into an iOS device from a computer? Correct me if I'm wrong:
"You cannot remote into an iOS device from a computer".

I heard this is the case.  I tried Chrome Remote and it works from iOS remoting a computer, but I couldn't remote into the iOS device from my Mac (I mean, use my computer to remotely access the iOS device).

I wonder if there's any remote software for this.

Thanks in advance.

If you consider a non-jailbroken iOS device, there's basically two types of remote software possible:

The first type lets you remote in to see what's on the screen in "real time". It works across apps, and even when you're on the home screen, in control center, etc. The main drawback is that you can only watch what's happening - you cannot control anything. A common system that implements this scheme is TeamViewer.

The second type lets you remote in to see what's on the screen in "real time" and also allows remote control (and possible various other actions such as "painting" on the screen, popping up messages, etc). The main drawback being that it only works inside a single app - as soon as you exit the app, the remote connection stops. Several vendors offer SDK based solutions for this type of remoting - but you have to be an app developer to embed it inside your own app. You cannot apply it to any random app you have installed.


macOS High Sierra memory always at 75% Since my update to macOS High Sierra my memory is always at 75% even after a fresh startup.

Is it just iStat Menus that shows it this way or is there really only 25% of memory free (out of 8GB) ?

Or is it the memory that is saved for applications ?

What is the difference between:

Wired (???)
Active (currently in use?)
Compressed (not used since longe time?)
Free (free...)

After closing every app I could, here is the result, approximately 50% of RAM. But WindowServer is huge... What is it?

MacOS will try to use as much memory as it can. Having more RAM will improve performance, but using most of what you have is not in itself a bad thing. MacOS will make room, if it needs to.

This Apple support document tells you what the various attributes mean:

Wired Memory: Memory that can’t be compressed or paged out to your
startup drive, so it must stay in RAM. The wired memory used by a
process can’t be borrowed by other processes.
Compressed: The amount of memory in RAM that is compressed to make
more RAM memory available to other processes. Look in the Compressed
Mem column to see the amount of memory compressed for each process.

"Active" is not a term that Apple uses anymore, but it's 'general' memory used by applications. Wired tends to be system memory, which can't be removed because it's critical; and compressed tends to be stuff that's not being used right now, and so can be compressed to save space.

Memory management is: a) more complicated than "water filling a bottle"; b) something the OS is good at, c) something the OS is doing constantly.


My wireguard install has broken and I'm unable to fix it Since I've installed Wireguard on my MacBook Air running MacOS Sierra it hasn't given me any major problems until now. I've been using wgcf to generate the wireguard config file, but I don't think that has been the cause of my issues with wireguard. So, in the last day or two when I run wg-quick up ~/wgcf/wireguard-profile.conf it prints three lines and then hangs.
[#] wireguard-go utun
[+] Interface for wgcf-profile is utun1
[#] wg setconf utun1 /dev/fd/63

I've been trying to fix this in all different kinds of ways from using brew to uninstall and reinstall wireguard-tools and wireguard-go. I manually downloaded the latest version of go and wireguard-go and it still hangs like it did before. At this point I don't know what to do.

According to gdayhowyagoin on reddit , wireguard-go version 0.0.20210212 is the culprit. If you're using brew, you can see how they downgraded it, but if youre using macports, you can follow this:
git clone --single-branch https://github.com/macports/macports-ports.git
cd macports-ports
git checkout e01555c11df59855b73fd540accc778a41145bf8
cd net/wireguard-go
sudo port install

I hope this clears your issue.


Excel always opens spreadsheet in read-only mode I understand this issue arose over the past 2-3 years, but I haven't seen any solution.

A workbook created on a Windows PC using Office 365 - transferred to Mac (Yosemite installed) - opens in read-only mode in Office 365 for Mac.

The workbook doesn't have a "/" in its name. I made sure there is read/write access for the file and also the folder. It contains macros, some of which work, others will have to be redone.

After saving it with a different name, I may work as usual with it like updating, saving and closing it.

After reopening it, it's again in read-only mode.

After all this time there must be a solution for the problem.

I had the same problem. I could see the attributes set as Read-Only under the preferences but couldn't change them. I completely closed out of excel on my mac and changed the name of the excel file. That seemed to have changed the Read-Only status of my file when I opened it next. Hope this helps.


macOS: Disconnect Wi-Fi without turning it off How can I disconnect from Wi-Fi on Mac without turning it off? I do not want to connect via Wi-Fi on my Mac as I am connected via LAN. But when I turn Wi-Fi off, I also lose the ability to use services dependant on Wi-Fi availability such as AirDrop.
I was able to achieve it currently by forgetting available access points, and leaving the Wi-Fi on, but I have to re-join the access point by entering its password again if needed, which is not convenient.
Can I disconnect from Wi-Fi on my Mac and also leave it on? I am able to do the same on an iPhone by tapping Wi-Fi icon in Control Centre. It disconnect from Wi-Fi while leaving the Wi-Fi and thus I am able to use services such as AirDrop.
I cannot appear to do it on my Mac. I have looked in Network System Preference pane and also under the Wi-Fi Menu bar icon, but I cannot find any option.

You can press and hold the Option key when clicking on the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar. This way, you'll be presented with the extended menu of options and there find the option to disconnect from the currently connected access point without forgetting it or turning off the Wi-Fi.
Clicking on Wi-Fi menu bar icon normally

Clicking on Wi-Fi menu bar icon while pressing and holding down the Option key

Other services dependant on Wi-Fi availability such as AirDrop would continue to work.
P.S.: Other access points and extended network information blurred.


How to change Finder icon on macOS Catalina? On previous versions of macOS, it was possible to change the Finder icon in /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/.

However, this doesn't seem possible in Catalina anymore? Even with SIP disabled?

Based on this answer: Cannot change login wallpaper in 10.15 Catalina?

Reboot Mac, holding ⌘R to boot into Recovery mode
Open terminal
Disable SIP with csrutil disable
Reboot Mac
Open a terminal
sudo mount -uw /
sudo cp ~/your-new-icon.png /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/finder.png
Repeat for finder@2x.png
Reboot into recovery
Re-enable SIP with csrutil enable


Import mailbox from Mail (with no mail account access) to Gmail On my iPhone on Mail, I have a mailbox from a provider that I no longer have access to (emails were downloaded via POP while I still had access). I don't want to lose those emails. Is there a way I can import them into say Gmail or another provider that I now use from the iPhone?

Navigate to the mailbox to be migrated
Tap "Edit" at top right
Tap "Select all" at top left
Tap "Move" at bottom center
Navigate to the target account
Tap on target folder to have mails moved there


Which RAM to buy for mid 2010 15 Inch Macbook Pro I am looking to upgrade my 15 inch macbook pro from 4GB to 8GB of RAM. I have never upgraded anything on a macbook before and I am wondering how important is the specific RAM that i purchase? I read in a couple places than only OWC and Crucial RAM works with my macbook pro. Is this correct? Or can i buy any two DDR3 1066Hz 4GB RAM and just slot it into my Macbook Pro?

The brand shouldn't really matter. I have G Skill in mine with no problems. The stock was Samsung. The trouble with that specific model is that it doesn't clock down faster RAM properly thanks to some hardware bug with the Nvidia chipset. It's very important to only use 1066 MHz DDR3 with this model (you can usually get away with faster on other models). I had 1333 MHz RAM for a while and I had kernel panics all over the place.

The actual specifications are here:

  Double Data Rate Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module (DDR3) format
  30mm (1.18 inch)
  2 GB or 4 GB
  204-pin
  PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz type RAM