Can you pair Mac AND iPad with same Apple Wireless Keyboard? Can you pair both a Mac and an iPad 2 with the same Apple wireless keyboard, but not at the same time?  Or do you have to un-pair one, and then pair it with the other?

Yes you can.

First, make sure Bluetooth is turned off on your iPad. And enable it on your Mac (make sure the box that says "discoverable" is checked). Then turn on your keyboard and follow the steps to pair it using the Keyboard System Preference pane. Once the keyboard is paired, uncheck "discoverable" (which should remain off unless you wish to pair another device) and then turn off Bluetooth.

Next, head over to your iPad and enable bluetooth. Turn your keyboard off (hold the power button till the light glows and then dims). Turning it on again will get the iPad to pick it up and a prompt will ask you to enter a 4-digit sequence of numbers and the "ENTER" key. Follow the steps. Once that is done, it will be paired.

To use the keyboard on the iPad, make sure the device has bluetooth enabled and that your Mac has that service disabled (you should disable the service before trying to connect the keyboard to the other device).

I just tested it using my Mac and my iPhone 4 and it works perfectly. Sometimes the device takes a second attempt to locate the keyboard, but it does indeed work.

Paul above notes that there is a problem with iMacs if they are using only a Bluetooth keyboard. I don't know if there is an easy solution to this. I have the same issue, but I also have a separate wired keyboard, and a separate wired mouse which I can connect if I need to reconfigure the wireless keyboard, mouse or trackpad.

I only do it relatively infrequently, so not too big a problem, but if I did it a lot it would be. I have bought another cheap keyboard in the hope that I will then not have to swap between machines too often.


Mounting shares with Login Items at login, Finder windows popup I have some shares that are mounted during login. I used Users & Groups' "Login Items" panel to do this. When I login, all of the shares pop up in their own Finder windows.

How can I keep the Finder windows from popping up at login? I've already tried checking the Hide checkbox.

Here are two very simple solutions made possible by automation tools baked right in Mac OS X, AppleScript and Automator.

AppleScript

You can use AppleScript to make a a very simple app that will mount your shares without opening any new Finder windows.

Open AppleScript Editor and put in this script:

tell application "Finder"
    mount volume "afp://Share.local/folder" as user name "username"
end tell

Adapt it to your need (configure your shares).
Save it as an application.
Add it to your login items in the "Accounts" preference pane.

It may ask your password the first time, but you can save it in Keychain and won't bother you anymore.

Of course, you can mount multiple disk by adding some additional mount volume lines.

Automator

If you prefer a visual interface, you can use Automator as well.

Open Automator and choose "Application".
Add action "Get Specified Servers" (in the "Files & folders" section).
Add your shares in the list.
Add action "Connect to Servers" (in the same section).
Save the application.
Add it to your login items in the "Accounts" preference pane.

Here's a screenshot of the process:

I'm about 60% sure this is the case: Finder remembers if a volume's window was open when it was ejected. Close the window then eject it, it shouldn't open automatically the next time it's mounted. I know this works for a handful of disk images I mount at login.

Unfortunately that hide checkbox doesn't work for anything but apps. I believe that's why the instructional text specifically says "to hide an application".


AppleScript do shell will not work on Application Support directory I've spent the day doing several researches and attempts on how to copy a file that is located inside an AppleScript app to the root Application Support directory (hdd -> Library -> Application Support).  Originally I thought it was an issue with calling do shell script and administrator privileges but for some reason if I have a file located in an AppleScript app I try to call that file to be added to Application Support, for example:

set foo to "Macintosh HD/Users/vader/someapp.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt"
set bar to "Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/"

do shell script "cp " & (quoted form of foo) & space & (quoted form of bar) with administrator privileges

I've taken this down to the basic form when it comes to the folder path and file path but when I run the above I get an error message of:

  cp: Macintosh
  HD/Users/vader/someapp.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt: No
  such file or directory

I can return true that the file exists in the app with:

set foobar to POSIX path of (path to resource "foobar.txt" in directory "Scripts")
if not (exists foobar) then
    return false
else
    return true
end if

I've tried this with:

tell application "Finder" to duplicate file (foo) to folder (bar)

but that didn't work either.

Research when I tried to remove the file after manually adding it (yes I have admin permissions on my box):

I've researched several areas to see how to implement the prompting of permissions using administrator privileges but with no luck:

Can't delete directory via AppleScript
AppleScript: match and delete files in folder
Automatically delete temporary ~/Library/Application Support folders
Delete folders if exist and delete
Applescript oe shellscript to delete config file?
Delete files with AppleScript to recycle bin or permanently

Here are the following attempts I've tried:

AppleScript System Events:

tell application "System Events" to delete file appWithPath

do shell attempts:

attempt 1

do shell script "rm -f " & appNamewithQuotedFormPath with administrator privileges

attempt 2

do shell script "find " & quotedPathToDirectory & " -name \"" & applicationName & "\" -type f -delete" with administrator privileges

It still wouldn't work and I checked with:

do shell script "echo " & appNamewithQuotedFormPath with administrator privileges

After digging into Script Editor I found I was getting -10004 error so I researched:

Unknown cause for -10004 error

so I moved the add and removal of the file in Application Support to a handler that didn't have a try block but still nothing.

Thinking it might be an issue with the used privileges I tried all of the following parameters used with Scripting Additions:

In an AppleScript app how can I add and remove a file that exists in the app to the root Application Support directory?

EDIT:

After further testing I removed the usage of Macintosh HD and the do shell script would work which I do not understand why that would cause the script to fail.  Why would adding Macintosh HD to the path cause the script to error out?

If you are hardcoding, without testing if the file exists, then use the following example:

set foo to quoted form of "/Users/vader/someapp.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt"
set bar to quoted form of "/Library/Application Support/"
try
    do shell script "cp " & foo & space & bar with administrator privileges
end try

If you are calling it from the script within the application bundle,  then use the following example:

on run
    try
        set foo to POSIX path of (path to me as string) & "Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt"
        set bar to quoted form of "/Library/Application Support/"

        tell application "System Events"
            if exists file foo then
                tell current application
                    do shell script "cp " & quoted form of foo & space & bar with administrator privileges
                end tell
            end if
        end tell
    on error eStr number eNum
        display dialog eStr & " number " & eNum buttons {"OK"} default button 1 with icon caution
        return
    end try
end run

Note: When working with the do shell script command, POSIX pathnames must be used, not aliases. Macintosh HD is not valid in a POSIX path, just in an alias. In a POSIX path of the startup disk, everything starts in the root of the volume: /

Example:

tell application "Finder" to get name of startup disk as alias
tell application "Finder" to get POSIX path of (name of startup disk as alias)

Returns:

Macintosh HD
/

Your original script specified "cp Macintosh HD ...", but use /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD ... instead.  Also, it's best to put a backslash before any blank, as I did above before HD.  That would be true for 'Application\ Support' as well


What causes a full restart vs a resume when battery dies? There are many times where if my macbook pro dies, it will simply resume where it left off once i plug in the power and turn it on. Other times, it will do a complete restarting and I will loose all my unsaved data.

What causes one vs the other? Preferably, I would like it to always resume instead of restart.

This is likely the cause of your system going down while in the process of performing a reboot. The most common cause of this is system updates loading in the background. Lots of times these updates will require a restart after installing. In addition, do you happen to have the computer scheduled for reboot?
This can be confirmed in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule. Resume only occurs if the last known state was you logged into your home account.


Enabling AHCI for SSD under Win7 BootCamp on Macbook Pro 2011 I've just installed a new Samsung 830 256GB SSD and have configured BootCamp with Lion and Windows 7.

Under Lion, I have installed Trim Enabler.

Under Windows 7 I have installed the Samsung (Wizard) software that came with the SSD. In this software I've applied all of the recommended optimisations under 'OS Optimisations', however, the Samsung wizard software is informing me that AHCI is not enabled at present and for best performance, this should be enabled.

I'm not sure a) what implications there are if it's left disabled (will it affect the lifespan of the SSD or is it purely a speed thing?) and b) if there is a way under BootCamp for an Early 2011 MacBook Pro to have AHCI enabled?

I was also concerned that if AHCI is not enabled, perhaps TRIM won't be enabled either? However, I did run a tool which I found online that said that TRIM was enabled on this Windows 7 install (despite AHCI not being enabled).

This is my first SSD drive so am not very familiar with the technology, terminology and best practices etc.

You can't.  Apple has implemented a Compatibility Support Module (CSM) into the Mac firmware that emulates the PC BIOS specification.  Since the Mac firmware is not 100% UEFI compliant, that CSM is the only way Windows can boot on a Mac.

Unfortunately, the ACPI tables in that CSM are just the bare minimum necessary to allow Windows to boot and nothing more. You lose several features when using it:

No graphics switching (always uses the discrete card).
No AHCI support (SATA devices are in IDE compatibility mode)

No support for TRIM
No support for Native Command Queuing (NCQ).

No support for advanced power management features (only basic S1, S3, and S4 states are supported).

Basically Windows sees your SSD as just a really fast IDE hard drive.  This will not affect the SSD in terms of lifespan.  It may, however, make the SSD a little slower over time than it would otherwise be when running Windows.

NOTE:  Some people have reported that they have been able to install Windows 7 in UEFI mode on a Mac, which would enable all those missing features.  However, it cannot be done on your model.  I've tried.  With sufficient hacking you can get it up and running, but it's plagued with audio and video issues.

In windows go to Control Panel\System and Security\System, click on the "windows experience" link and "Re-Run the assessment" this will update info about the drive and enable trim.


How can I enable the "back" button of a Razer mouse? I couldn't find a way to get the back button of my Razer mouse to work with both Safari and Chrome, is there a workaround for this issue? I'm so used to surfing the web this way.

EDIT
I apologize for being unclear. I'm not using the Mac mouse, I'm using Mac mini with my Razer mouse. I installed the driver for that Mouse, unfortunately it only allows me to set the sensitivity and acceleration. I also tried to install Google Chrome, but it doesn't work either. When I click the side button of my mouse, it doesn't go back to the previous page. Under Windows, the default behavior of the back button in a mouse is to navigate back to the previous page, but it's not the case under Mac.
I really try to find a solution since I'm so used to the "back" button in my mouse. I feel so uncomfortable when having to click on the back arrow on my browser.
Could any one help me out? Thank you.

I made an open-source macOS utility called SensibleSideButtons that turns the side buttons on any generic mouse into universal navigation buttons. The application runs in your menu bar so you don't have to install any extra drivers. My approach is to bind the buttons to virtual left and right three-finger swipe gestures, which offers several benefits over the usual approach of binding the buttons to ⌘ + [ and ⌘ + ]: almost universal adoption across the OS (including Xcode), avoidance of destructive behavior, no menu bar blink or annoying noises, and commands only sent to the specific window under your cursor. The only requirement is that your side buttons emit standard M4 and M5 events, which most mice do.

Get the BetterTouchTool then you can set up Mouse buttons to gestures and the likes.


Lion Mail: Drag to Select vs. Drag to Move I'm using Mail in Lion in three-pane full screen mode. Let's say I put my pointer over a message in the middle pane. I push the touchpad with my thumb to click and hold, and start to move the pointer with my index finger in the direction of the new folder where I want to file the message. Mail does one of two things:

Begin to highlight a range of messages, or
Begin to move the selected message to another folder.

I can never tell which one I'm going to get. I almost always want (2), but maddeningly often I get (1). What am I doing to cause the ambiguity? How do I clearly signal my intent to the UI?

Selecting happens when you start dragging in the empty part of a line and have a major vertical movement. You can prevent message moving from happening by immediately starting to drag across after clicking.

Moving happens when you start in the text part of a line. Moving is also easier invoked when your major movement is in the horizontal axis. If you click and hold on a spot for a moment and then start dragging message moving will be invoked.

right area to drag message, everywhere else to select messages. see here

EDIT: sorry for the NSFW link. I moved from droolr to cloud app and my previous references are broken now (yes, I use a custom domain)

correct link http://sldn.info/9t7P


Trackpad interaction without touching it since spilling water I am using MacBook Pro with OS X 10.9.2.

2 days back some water was spilled(more like sprinkled) on the keyboard area of macbook and I immediately cleaned it. After that my macbook cursor behaves strangely. It acts like some one else is playing with the trackpad.

Below are my observations

In TextEdit if I leave it untouched, it selects a line of text and gets deleted. And some times if the text edit is not maximized, the focus moved out and brings back the window which is maximized. And also the cursor suddenly jumps to somewhere else while I am writing.
In VLC it continuously toggles between full screen and windowed mode. It automatically right clicks and opens the context menu.

Please help find the root cause and a solution please.

The basic working of a trackpad is when a charged object such as a the human finger interacts with it. In case of a water spill, I assume you have wiped and cleaned it but still some amount of moisture has managed to slip into the trackpad and when it gets charged it starts interacting with it. I would suggest to take it to a repair shop, or if you still want to test it you can connect the external trackpad and check as that should work fine.

Sounds like someone's controlling your computer to me.

Go to System Preferences, then go to the Sharing preferences and see if Remote Management is turned on. If it is, turn it off.


Is it possible to change Dock icons on a per-user basis? Can you make the Dock icon for an app appear different? Obviously you could copy the whole app or symlink parts of it, but I don't want to have to create a symlink for every single file in the Resources directory.

I tried pasting an icon into the "Get Info" window of an alias or symlink, but that just triggered the bell noise.

The bell sound suggests you do not have the right to alter the application. A command line approach will allow you to gain the appropriate rights.

AppleScript App Trampoline

For a per-user approach, consider creating an small trampoline application using AppleScript. Using AppleScript Editor, create an application that launches your desired application.

The AppleScript can be as little as:

tell app "/Applications/Original.app"
    activate
end tell

You can apply a custom icon to your trampoline application and place this application in the Dock. When launched, the trampoline application will in turn launch the original application.

Command Line Approach

The approach below will change the application icon for all users.

Try setting a custom icon on the application using the command line tool SetFile and super user rights, sudo.

See How can I change a file or folder icon using the Terminal for a few approaches for setting an icon via the command line. Below is the most highly rated response:

# Take an image and make the image its own icon:
sips -i icon.png

# Extract the icon to its own resource file:
/Developer/Tools/DeRez -only icns icon.png > tmpicns.rsrc

# append this resource to the file you want to icon-ize.
/Developer/Tools/Rez -append tmpicns.rsrc -o file.ext

# Use the resource to set the icon.
sudo /Developer/Tools/SetFile -a C /Applications/MyApp.app

# clean up.
rm tmpicns.rsrc
# rm icon.png # probably want to keep this for re-use.

I have appended sudo before the SetFile command to elevate your rights.

Well, there is a new little 3rd party app called cDock that does remarkable things to the dock. Things that used to be routine. I, for one, love having no backdrop at all to my small left-side dock.


How to change the `sh` command to run scripts in bash 4 I have installed bash 4 with Homebrew and bash --version shows me the version 4.

If I have following test script:

#!/usr/local/bin/bash
# test-version.sh
echo $BASH_VERSION

And I make it executable chmod +x configurer.sh and run it ./test-version.sh I also get the version 4.

But if I run it with the sh command sh test-version.sh I get the version 3.

I have put the new shell into /etc/shells:

sudo bash -c 'echo /usr/local/bin/bash >> /etc/shells'

And changed to the new shell:

 chsh -s /usr/local/bin/bash

I also changed the path in iTerm Settings > Profiles > Command to /usr/local/bin/bash.

Thanks!

EDIT: I've come to realize that it's good to leave sh alone. When wanting to run scripts with Bash 4 just don't use sh.

I used homebrew to install BASH4 and I use the shebang #!/bin/bash every time. This works for me with both sh and ./ styles of running.

By running man sh in a terminal on macOS, we can learn the sh command determines the shell first by evaluating a symbolic link:

DESCRIPTION
     sh is a POSIX-compliant command interpreter (shell).  It is implemented by re-execing as either bash(1), dash(1), or zsh(1) as determined by the sym-
     bolic link located at /private/var/select/sh.  If /private/var/select/sh does not exist or does not point to a valid shell, sh will use one of the
     supported shells.

Verifying this as follows:

$ l /private/var/select

drwxr-xr-x - root 13 Oct  2019  .
drwxr-xr-x - root 26 May 21:25  ..
lrwxr-xr-x 9 root 13 Oct  2019  sh -> /bin/bash

If you wish to alter the default shell, you can update this symbolic link accordingly.

In addition, I would verify that whichever shell you use is sanctioned in your /etc/shells file:

$ cat /etc/shells

# List of acceptable shells for chpass(1).
# Ftpd will not allow users to connect who are not using
# one of these shells.

/bin/bash
/bin/csh
/bin/ksh
/bin/sh
/bin/tcsh
/bin/zsh
/usr/local/bin/zsh

Verifying man page

To verify what the man page indicates is true, we can do a simple test.

In one session start watching file system activity for any access to the /private/var/select/sh link:

$ sudo fs_usage sh | grep -E '/private/var/select/sh'

In a second terminal run the following:

$ /bin/sh -c ls

And note the output similar to the following in the fs_usage session:

10:55:26  readlink          /private/var/select/sh                                                           0.000030   sh


Replacing HDD on iMac G3 I bought a used iMac G3 recently and I am trying to get it at max performance. Atm I am at the phase of replacing the HDD.
I read on some places that 7200 RPM drives may have overheat problems in the G3 is that true? I probably wont be stressing the drive too much since most files come from network but its good to know. Also what type of drive do I need ? The ones I am considering have :

EIDE ATA100

IDE Fast Ultra DMA ATA/133

Both are 7200 rpm refubrished drives at 80 gb and 2mb catche.
Is one of those better choice ?

As an alternative if 7200 rpm is not good idea/ interfaces not compatible i got this :

ATA/133 HDD Hard Drive IDE

Thanks and hope I didnt put too many questions there ^^.

The iMacs range from supporting EIDE ATA-3 to Ultra ATA as noted in EveryMac.com under the "Int. HD Interface:" section for each iMac, but the good news is that they are all backwards compatible.

Fortunately, the technology itself is pretty easy to use, even if the labels given to it often stink. So one useful way of dealing with all the standards and labels is simply to ignore them! Look past the hype, and focus on what the drive's actual capabilities are. If you want to really understand what a drive can do and what it supports, you should look at its specification sheet and see what features and transfer modes it is designed to use. Ignore labels like "EIDE" or "Ultra ATA/whatever" and find out what modes and functions the drive supports. Getting the real scoop on the drive means you don't need to worry about the pretty stickers slapped all over the box, or whatever the manufacturer is trying to claim.

One thing you need to be aware of is the 128GB size limitation. Your iMacs IDE controller can not address more than 128GB of a given disk.
Also overheating issue is probably not an issue? Eg if you go though OWC's MyOWC upgrade guide for any of the G3 iMacs even the oldest, they are recommending a 120GB 7200RPM drive as a replacement.  The best way to be sure would be to figure out the power requirement specs for that original drive and see how they match up, and use that to pick a new one.
Also there is some discussion on newer 7200 RPM drives producing less heat than the early on 7200RPM drives 7200 rpm Drive Doesn't Overheat My G3 iMac

Three or four years ago I installed a 7200 RPM hard drive in a 500 MHz G3 iMac (Summer 2000). I lent it to a friend, who ran it round the clock for weeks on end. Never had heat issues. It runs Tiger well enough for basic Internet, email, word processing, and old versions of iTunes and iPhoto. A fast hard drive and 1 GB of RAM really did a lot for it. The drive is an 80 GB Samsung. It is out of production, but Western Digital still makes 3.5" ATA-100 hard drives. Any modern one-platter hard drive will probably run cooler than the iMac's original hard drive.

I put a 120 GB 7200 rpm Seagate hard drive in my 600 MHz iMac and ran it 24 hours a day for years with no overheating. One time I left home for two weeks during September in Texas with the air conditioning off the entire time while I was away. There was a hot spell while I was gone. When I got home the house, was 95 degrees. I'm sure it got hotter than that while I was gone. The little iMac ran perfectly the entire time.
Today's 7200 rpm hard drives have better bearings, use less energy, make less noise, last longer, and make less heat that the old, slow hard drives that came with the G3 iMac. I say put a 7200 rpm hard drive in it and don't worry about it. Expect to see a small performance increase as a result.

Yes, since iMac G3s rely on passive cooling, a 7200 RPM drive can easily overheat in one. Go for the 5400 RPM drive.


Apache 2 `UserDir` problem in OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) Server after upgrade from Lion (10.7) I had a Mac under OS X Lion. I upgrade it to Mountain Lion, and buy the OS X Server software in the AppStore.

Since the beginning, I use the Apache version bundled in Mac OS, and it work fine.

But after solving some problems (like the change of location of the main directory from /Library/WebServer/Documents to /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default), I can't figure out how to configure UserDir to work again!

As explained here:

  Please note - the Mountain Lion install removes the contents of the directory
  /private/etc/apache2/users
  so if you counted on those configuration files working for you, oops.

So, I follow advices found here, and finally my file /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf look like this:

#
# UserDir: The name of the directory that is appended onto a user's home
# directory if a ~user request is received.  Note that you must also set
# the default access control for these directories, as in the example below.
#
UserDir Sites

#
# Users might not be in /Users/*/Sites, so use user-specific config files.
#
Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf
<IfModule bonjour_module>
       RegisterUserSite customized-users
</IfModule>

<Directory "/Users/*/Sites/">
Options Indexes
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

But, event after some sudo apachectl restart or reboot, impossible to acces again to my UserDir /Users/utilisateur/Sites/ through http://127.0.0.1/~utilisateur

Can you provide me some advice for the configuration please?
Remember: I've installed the Server software from the AppStore.

Thank you in advance!

[EDIT] I also tried these recommendations: Mountain Lion, Apache, Sites folder, htaccess and mod_rewrite, but it dosen't help…

[EDIT 2] In response to the possible duplicate with "How do I get my user directory working for web sharing again?", I will say that in my case, it's not a permission denied, but a 404 Not Found. It is probably due to the concomitant installation of the OS X Server application from the AppStore, so, it's a distinct issue IMHO…
In fact, I've tested the solution provided, and it does not work at all for me.

It seems that the Apache configuration files in /etc/apache2 are not at all considered by the Apache version provided by the Server application.

With the Server application, all configurations are in /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2

As the ReadMe.txt of this directory says, the default apache configuration file is httpd_server_app.conf, and I just had to uncomment the line Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf in this file!

problem solved.

[EDIT]
As notified by Kristopher Johnson, it may also be necessary to uncomment LoadModule apple_userdir_module

the answer is as follow:

you must to check if you have a file with the name .conf in this directory:

/private/etc/apache2/users/

by default I think you have the Guess.conf file with this content:

# cat /private/etc/apache2/users/Guest.conf
<Directory "/Users/Guest/Sites/">
    Options Indexes MultiViews
    AllowOverride None
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>

If you have the user "macuser" and you want to use localhost/~macuser URL, then you must create the macuser.conf with the correct information (Sites directory, probably /Users/macuser/Sites). After the change you need to restart the apache process:

sudo apachectl restart


Remove folders in ~/Library/Mobile Documents There are some folders in ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ (like XXXXXX~com~companyname~appname) which seems to be left by apps I already removed from all my devices. However, if I delete those folders, they restored back almost immediately. They are not visible in Finder or in iCloud management in System Preferences. How to get rid of them?

Those should be the same apps listed under System Settings/iCloud/Manage... (button down right next to the bar), so you can delete them there.

You cannot do that, this is how iCloud works.

These folders are how iCloud is designed to work, so you can stop using iCloud or forget about your intentions for a 'clean system'; sorry for saying this but you are not using a Linux flavor.

So, iCloud is not designed to allow you to micromanage it. The folders will be empty if you have no data in that application.
[Upadate]
This method isn’t working


What is the best free hard drive diagnostics app for Mac OS X? My MacBook Pro (described below) fell 5 feet while it was powered on. Would the sudden motion sensor be able to turn off the hard drives in time? Also, can anyone recommend the best (free) hard drive diagnostic tools Mac OS X?

Thanks, Chirag

  Model Name: MacBook Pro
  Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,5
  Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
  Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
  Number Of Processors: 1
  Total Number Of Cores: 2
  L2 Cache: 3 MB
  Memory: 4 GB
  Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
  Boot ROM Version: MBP55.00AC.B03
  SMC Version (system): 1.47f2
  Serial Number (system): W89241NW66E
  Hardware UUID: D62F2A33-E5BA-5208-B300-28730564D27F
  Sudden Motion Sensor:
  State: Enabled

System Software Overview:

  System Version: Mac OS X 10.5.8 (9L30)
  Kernel Version: Darwin 9.8.0
  Boot Volume: Macintosh HD
  Boot Mode: Normal
  Time since boot: 5:20

About the only "free" tool that's worth anything is smartmontools, IMHO.

smartmontools is a free SMART monitoring application that comes from the Unix, BSD, and Linux world (OS X is based on BSD). This tool can provide extensive SMART monitoring but it's command line which a lot of people don't like. Everything else costs money - I suppose some people have actual costs, like food, water, heat, mortgage, etc. etc.

ZVH, over on MacRumors, has written a list of drive testing tools but beware most of these cost money:

  Mac hard drive test software - creating the definitive list

  Disk Utility, diskutil (FREE, comes with OS)
  Smartmon Tools (FREE, Open Source)
  SMARTReporter ($4.95 for commercial version, but an older version is FREE)
  Scannerz Lite ($21.95)
  Scannerz with Phoenix and FSE-Lite ($39.95)
  Disk Tools Pro ($79.99)
  Disk Warrior ($99.00)
  Drive Genius ($99.00)
  TechTool Pro ($99.99)

That's actually a really good report. Interesting that nearly no one commented on it. In any case, I think you get what you pay for. Tools like Disk Warrior and Scannerz are known to do very limited things but do an extraordinarily good job of doing it, while other "Swiss Army Knife" tools apparently do a decent job, but not really all that thorough. The author only identifies a few applications as "free."

Although I find SMART status useful, I wouldn't base my life around SMART reports and would recommend that people do web searches about the reliability of SMART testing before using it as a defacto standard.

Sounds like your best recourse would be to pull the hard drive and test it in a Windows Machine, or dual-boot Windows on your Mac.  Software that's actually useful, like Seatools, which does far more than Smart Monitoring, and is far better than the sub-standard disk utility built into Mac.


Any way to write the Terminal scrollback history? I would like to open a new tab in Terminal with custom scrollback history. The primary use-case is to "fork" an existing tab such that both tabs contain the same scrollback history, but more generally I would like to have some custom scripts save and restore Terminal sessions.

I know about the history restore functionality already in Terminal but it doesn't suit my needs; the main one being that I have a system built around the script command and some zsh hooks to save history and output for all terminal sessions for later auditing purposes (recalling changes that I've made).

I would now like to switch to use osascript to save the history and on restoring sessions later to match up the new session with its prior one- in a way, implementing long-term, persistent sessions. I've had Terminal's saved sessions lose their data too many times that I am working around it.

Perhaps use iterm? http://www.iterm2.com

Its free and should fit your needs?


How to change NTP server in airport express? Is it possible to change NTP server in AirportExpress? Is there any other way to control this device than Airpot Utility?

Although the GUI has lost a lot of functionality, there is a workaround.

In AU, select the device and click 'edit'. Under the File menu export the config, which you can then edit, and import it using the same menu. The relevant tag is

<key>ntSV</key>
<string>time.apple.com</string>

You will need to be very careful with your editing or you may render it unbootable! You will need to restart for the config change to take effect. I've done this with a Time Capsule: I expect that this is possible with Airport Express too, but do not have access to one to experiment with.

I believe older version of Airport Utiltiy had a GUI that you could set.  It seems they took that feature away now.  You can set NTP on each Mac itself from Terminal.app rather than setting things on a network level.

sudo systemsetup -setusingnetworktime "IP/Hostname of NTP server"
sudo systemsetup -setusingnetworktime on


leopard forgot password+launch_msg socket is not connected I was working on increasing the speed of an ancient (6 years old) iMac running Leopard when I accidentally set the password incorrectly. I then turned to the internet to look for an answer and found:
http://www.macyourself.com/2009/08/03/how-to-reset-your-mac-os-x-password-without-an-installer-disc/
Which seemed to work fine until I reached

launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist

Which returned the error

launch_msg socket is not connected

I decided to ignore this and see where this would lead me, when I got to:

dscl . -passwd /Users/username password

It told me that I had to run:

launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServicesLocal.plist

which returned the same error.

Additionally the system is very slow despite Activity Monitor telling me no programs are using more then 2% cpu or 50 mb ram. Could this be connected?

It's also worth noting that the disc reader was damaged some time ago and is useless.

Anyone got a fix?

The above worked on osx 10.5.8

I didn't use the "/" in mount -uw and once I did that it let me reset the password

Working command: mount -uw /

Did you follow the instructions exactly? I had the same problem, until I realized that I had omitted the / at the end of mount -uw /.

Can't comment on slowness or damaged hardware, that seems unrelated.


Accessing ICloud Drive files from an iPad I've added some files (photographs) to iCloud drive on my iMac.
Now, I'd like to access the files on my iPad.
I've enabled the setting in "iCloud" on the iPad, like all of the tutorials say.

Now- how can I find those files using my iPad?

Have you made sure that you have also set iCloud Photo Library (Beta) in iCloud settings as well. This is under iCloud > Photos > "iCloud Photo Library (Beta)"


iphone 5, ios 9.0.2 stuck on lock screen Anyone have solution for my issue? My iphone 5, ios 9.0.2 stuck on lock screen.

Sleep / wake button is not working for years (https://www.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/). I live in Indonesia, bought that iphone in Singapore. All I can say is, I can't ask for replacement

What works for me:

assisitive touch
home button
mute / unmute switch
volume up / down while accessing "Voice Control"

Other than that nothing's working

Touch screen on OTHER than assisitive touch is not working. So I can't do any slide, etc.

I tried to use assisitive touch to turn off my iphone but I can't swipe the "slide to power off". I can show control center via assisitive touch but I can't touch anything. Hard reset (holding sleep/wake + home button) is not working because my sleep/wake button is not working.

I think it might be related with "notification center" because I can't open notification center via assisitive touch.

All I can do right now is waiting till my battery runs out (hope this issue will be gone after it restarts)

In web programming terms, it seems that there are some kind of z-index difference blocking the layer other than "Assisitive Touch layer"

What was happening (in case any of you can replicate it):

my wife was borrowing my iphone (LCD still off)
WhatsApp chat notification came
she clicked home button (while the LCD still glowing)
boom! that's all

PS:
I don't want to wipe my iphone, I have a lot of important data in my iphone

The solution should be to wait until the battery is drain out and the plug it to the power source to turn it on. Everything should be back to normal.

BUT in my case, I can't wait until the battery is drain out so I open the iphone by myself then unplug the battery (~4 hours ago). Everything should be back to normal BUT in my case, it made my iphone "broken". I did a mistake (I was separating the display from the front panel!!) when I tried to "suck" the front panel. Sometimes there are some weird mark on the top of my display and touch on that area is not working :(

Though I'm not sure, is that happened because of my mistake during opening the front panel OR because I forcibly unplug the battery when the iphone is still ON.

So, it is not advisable to open the iphone by yourself. I did that because I really need it at that moment and I can't wait until the battery is drain out (even until now it still 64%).

This will help!

Spread the word!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S04lPPdPsfw


How do I trigger Appstore check for app updates manually? I'm using a firewall and by default, everything, including checking for updates is blocked.

In some situations, I'd like to disable the firewall and trigger such checks manually. How do I do that?

I have the firewall turned on on my computer and I don't have a problem checking for updates.  I go to the App Store and at the top of the window is an icon for updates. Click on that and it tells you the updates available.

See the image below.


Quickly browse through different available Wireless networks for the iPhone? I was wondering if there is a Cydia App or some other way that provides a way to browse and choose different available networks in a very fast manner ?
I hate going through Settings > Wi-Fi > Network - I would rather have a drop down list from notification center or something similar.

Any suggestions ?

As fas as I know, there is only a concept video for Notification Center WiFi seleciton, and there is a Simple Wifi for Notification Center Cydia tweak that will show WiFi info in there, but I don't think there is actually something that gives you exactly what you want.

But really, it's just two taps. Settings icon > WiFi section. That shows you all available networks. If your current WiFi network goes off, a list of available networks will automatically pop up.


How to communicate with another computer (on another network) terminal to terminal (OS X ) I would like to be able to print to the terminal of a computer on a different network (this should work bilaterally). I understand that this should be possible by using the command ntalk, but I have not been able to figure out how.

As I understand it, a way to do that would be to set up a restricted shell for a ssh user which would allow that user to print in the terminal, while not being able execute any other commands, so solutions for that would also be appreciated (as well as any other for that matter).

I'm just looking for a low security risk way to establish a point to point chat similar to IRC and with a minimal requirement to instal or configure additional software if OS X ships with something that can work.

Can ntalk work between another computer and Mac OS X?

It's unclear what you really mean with communicate!

If you want to have a chat-like communication enable ntalk on both hosts:

sudo launchctl load -w com.apple.ntalk

Then enter

talk user@host

to open a chat session.

To enable the chat session on the other side just enter the displayed command e.g.

talk otheruser@otherhost

This might fail if the system versions of the two hosts are different.

To "mirror" a session/attach your Terminal window to another one on a different host use screen:

On host1/user1 enter

screen -S test #test is the sessionname and can be chosen more or less freely

On host2/user2 enter:

ssh -t user1@host1 screen -x test #use the sessionname from above

User1's input will be visible in user2's shell but is unable to execute anything on host2. User2 can execute commands on host1. Both users see all commands entered in both "shells".

Screen is a really mighty tool. Please consult man screen for further informations.

You can ssh into another Mac by typing into the terminal:

ssh [ip address of other mac]

When prompted type in the username and password. You should be able to connect to the terminal of the other Mac.


If we format and re-install OSX through recovery, will it install the latest version? If we format and re-install OSX through Recovery Mode, will it download and install the latest version of OSX or use the existing version? I'm asking this because I noticed that it is downloading some files during the re-installation.

Have a look at the following links:

About macOS Recovery

How to reinstall macOS

From the latter link:

  Start up from macOS Recovery

  macOS Recovery installs
  different versions of macOS depending on the key combination you press
  while starting up. Hold down one of these combinations immediately
  after pressing the power button to turn on your Mac. Release when you
  see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.

  Command-R - Reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac, without upgrading to a later version.1
  Option-Command-R - Upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.2
  Shift-Option-Command-R - Reinstall the macOS that came with your Mac, or the version closest to it that is still available.
  Requires macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later.

  If you're selling or giving away a Mac that is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, use Option-Command-R to make sure that the
  installation isn't associated with your Apple ID.
  If you haven't already installed macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later, Option-Command-R reinstalls the macOS that came with your Mac, or the
  version closest to it that is still available.

in my experience using internet recovery

it install the original bundled version macosx from the internet


Can a Terminal window be resized with a Terminal command? So that I could resize the window to a certain size from within Terminal.

Yes. Terminal supports escape sequences for manipulating windows, including the size and position, layering, and minimizing. Dimensions can be expressed in pixels or characters. See Xterm Control Sequences for details (search for “Window manipulation”; if you’re not familiar with the notation, “CSI” stands for “Control Sequence Introducer”, which is ESC [).

For example, this shell command will set the window to 100x50 characters:

printf '\e[8;50;100t'

Minimize the window for a few seconds, then restore it:

printf '\e[2t' && sleep 3 && printf '\e[1t'

Move the window to the top/left corner of the display:

printf '\e[3;0;0t'

Zoom the window:

printf '\e[9;1t'

Bring the window to the front (without changing keyboard focus):

printf '\e[5t'

Enabling the Control Sequences in Terminal Emulators

Some terminal emulators ignore these control sequences by default and require configuration to enable them.

To enable these in XTerm, set the following resource to true:

  allowWindowOps

To enable these in iTerm2, deselect the following preference:

  Preferences > Profiles > [profile] > Terminal > Disable session-initiated window resizing

Actually you know, moving an resizing windows with a mouse is horribly slow.

I've been using this app SizeUp for a very long time now. It basically resizes any application window by using your keyboard command.

You can do the following (my custom keyboard commands below):

make the window full screen (control + option + command + m)
move a window 1/2 screen size to the left or right (control + option + command + ←/→ )
move a window 1/4 screen size to any corner (control + option + shift + ←/→/↑/↓)
move windows between screens
move windows between spaces

I think this might do the trick and also help with other window management.


Files Renamed in Finder not Reflected in iTunes? I just did a batch rename in Finder (using AppleScript), however the filenames in iTunes remain unchanged.

I tried restarting iTunes and that did not help.

I also tried iTunes >>> File >>> Library >>> Organize Library, but it happens to be grayed out, as I had already recently done this (prior to renaming the said files).

Any clue how to get these files renamed in Finder to show up in iTunes without manually doing so? It's too large a number to do manually.

Many thanks

Unfortunately, updating the files in Finder will not update the files in iTunes. This is because iTunes uses a file called iTunes Library.itl as a database of all your media.

You can however use the automator actions "Get Specified iTunes Items" and "Set Info of iTunes Songs" to automat the process of updating the metadata. There are some other good Automator actions in there too.

I would suggest using mp3tag to rename files and change the id3-tags, which tell iTunes what this song called.
I've tried a couple of programs like this (including Musicbrainz Picard), but this one is really good!
(I especially love how you can turn the filename into id3 tag and vice versa!)

The only problem I still have is that iTunes won't recognize the change...


Why AppleTV displays "An error occurred loading this content. Try again later" error? I bought my AppleTv a couple of weeks ago (Black Friday) got it set up and running just fine. I've been enjoying Netflix and video podcasts, overall its been great.

Then unexpectedly starting sometime yesterday and with increasing frequency today I've been getting the error:

  An error occurred loading this content. Try again later.

All the videos start playing, and play for usually a minute or more but then stop and that message appears. I can get back to the previous screen and hit play again and it plays the content, again for just a minute or so.

I've noticed it with video podcasts, Netflix streaming and Youtube streams.

Could this be a problem with the AppleTV or might it be my ISP? Thoughts, solutions appreciated...

If you hold down the Menu button and the down arrow on the remote for 10 sec until the LED on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash. Let go of the buttons and the Apple TV will do a soft reboot.
This has been happening to me several times a week and doing this seems to fix the issue.

like all ive seen this error also.
the source can be anything from the apple tv not being able to contact the server where the content is located, so anything on your local network preventing access like your router.  Or if you switch tv inputs while a video is loaded and paused, when you come back you may see this error and its due to HDMI content protection DRM crap.

There is also a reboot option under settings now so you dont have to unplug the apple TV anymore.

currently i only see this error when trying to send a video via airplay from my iphone when the video is in a format that the apple tv cant understand, usually from an app using the webview and the video is loaded from there instead of safari.


MacBook Pro problem with screen freeze My MacBook Pro 13" mid 2012 worked perfectly, but last days it has many lags (screen freeze with or without artifacts/shaders). After force shutdown it beeps 3 times and after approximately 10 minutes it loads OS, but fan works very noisy and fast.

Where can be the problem?

I have a Macbook air mid 2012 and it still runs like it is brand new. If I were you, I would get an external, backup everything you have on there. Do an internet recovery through disk utility and it should run like its brand new! Ive had issues like this before and what I suggested has been successful for me every time.

After 3 years of use i will suggest to perform a format. You'll get a brand new Macbook pro in hours.


Sync Google Tasks with iOS Reminders? Is there anyway of syncing my Google/Gmail tasks with iOS reminders?

I've created a service called Tasket which Syncs iOS Reminders with Gmail Tasks.  I do this by emulating a Microsoft Exchange server - iOS supports syncing Reminders with Exchange.

Tasket is currently in beta.  I'm just waiting on Google to increase their API quota so I can add more users.  Hopefully people find it helpful.  I like the native Reminders app.

Geetask will do it now!
http://itunes.apple.com/app/gtasks-hd-google-tasks-go/id428249408?mt=8&ls=1


How can I make Arabic fonts in GIMP work? If I select an Arabic font like Kufi (كوفي) and enter text into GIMP 2.8.14 on OS X 10.11, this is the result:

As you can see, the letters are incorrectly disjointed.

If I right-click on the text and select "From right to left", it makes no difference. In the text tool's options, I can change the language from English to Arabic, but it makes no difference. I can also change the justification to centered or to left-aligned, but it makes no difference.

Some fonts I select do render with the letters connected, but it looks like it's simply using a fallback font.

You better ask Gimp!
Gimp FAQ :  http://www.gimp.org/docs/userfaq.html
Or ask Gimp Support.


The volume customer keys of my Mac don't work anymore I used to press F10 to mute, F11 to decrease volume and F12 to increase volume, but all of them suddenly stopped working. If I press any of those keys now, they send me to another screen that has nothing to do with the sound volume.

How can I fix them?

Basically

Open System Preferences
Select "Keyboard"
De-select "Use F1, F2, etc., keys as standard function keys"

Try this so the keys can work as before again, without needing a volume slider https://youtu.be/rqYmBCxGLD4


Pinch to zoom broken in Yosemite I had pinch to zoom working fine after installing Yosemite but after a month or so it's stopped working. The setting is enabled in Trackpad > Scroll & Zoom and it seems none of those gestures are working anymore. I can use 4/5 fingers outwards for Expose though.

How can I get the full functionality back?

Turn off pinch to zoom in preferences, then turn on again. This has worked for me before. If that doesn't work then doing a reboot will usually fix any and all trackpad issues. Problems after a reboot? Check out the above slightely more extreme ways around the problem..

I reconnected my trackpad and it's worked


How many different VGA adapters for Macbooks exist? Many projectors still only accept a VGA connection, especially in fixed installations. And while older Windows notebooks usually have a VGA port directly available, Macbooks always need an adapter, as far as I understand it.

How many different adapters are there for reasonably recent versions of Macbooks (that are likely to be still in use today)? Sometimes the owners of the Macbooks forget those adapters, and then a hectic search for other Apple users starts in the hope of finding the adapter.

If I wanted to have a set of adapters in case any Macbook owner forgot theirs, how many and which ones exactly would I need?

With the help of Mactracker, I've compiled a list of all the connectors used on Mac portables in the last decade or so.

If you stick with machines since 2009 (actually late 2008 discounting one iteration of the 17" MBP), you can get away with just a mini-Displayport adapter.

Adding to that a DVI and mini-DVI adapter will cover you every Intel (2006 and on) portable (as well as most G4 PowerBooks), except for the first MacBook Air (of which there aren't many, but it requires a micro-DVI adapter).

Mini-Displayport/Thunderbolt

MacBook Pro 13" and 15": Late 2008 and on

17": Early 2009 and on

MacBook: Late 2009 and Mid 2010
MacBook (Aluminum): Late 2008
MacBook Air: Late 2008 and on

DVI (full-size)

MacBook Pro: 2006 to early 2008; late 2008 (17" only)
PowerBook G4 (15" and 17"): April 2002 and on

Mini-DVI

MacBook: early 2006 to Mid 2009
PowerBook G4 (12"): September 2003 and on

Micro-DVI

MacBook Air (original, early 2008)

Mini-VGA

iBook: May 2002 and on
PowerBook G4 (12"): January 2003 model (PowerBook6,1)

The different connections on a MacBook or MacBook Pro have almost changed with every new versions of the laptops.

If we go back only a couple of years MacBook Pro had built in DVI connector and there were adapters for DVI to VGA. Later on came the Mini DisplayPort and Mini-DVI.

Today we have Apples new Thunderbolt in the laptops. Some also have HDMI.

I suggest going to Apple Store - Cables and check out what there is still on the market.


How to fix iPhone; where user is unable to hear from front speaker. New phone with plastic still on So I recently had this issue and had the hardest time figuring it out when, in fact, it was quite an easy solution. I got a brand new iPhone due to the last one breaking. It is an iPhone 6s. I kept the plastic on it because I was waiting for my screen protector to come. Throughout the next few week's usage I had noticed that I can't hear people when on a phone call. I tried a ton to fix it and finally decided to book a genius bar reservation and had them explain that while the plastic seems thin, and while the plastic seemingly does not block sound, it in fact does block sound.

Take the plastic off when you get a new iPhone. That plastic will ruin the phone calling experience


macOS/OS X Numbers 3.2 inserting date / time I want a cell to take on the date and time of "this moment", and then leave it.

Contrary to some experiences I've read about, the Insert menu does have Date & Time, but it doesn't seem to respect the format I've specified for the cell.  I used the Cell formatting inspector to declare the cell as Date & Time, 1/5/14, 7:08 PM. I entered text-insertion mode on the cell, and selected Insert > Date & Time.  It inserted Friday, July 4, 2014 (and no time). When I then selected the cell (you know, one click, which outlines the cell, as opposed to two clicks which puts you into text insertion mode), the inspector said the cell's format had reverted to Automatic. I switched it back to Date & Time but now it reads 7/4/14 12:00 (it's really more like 1:50).

The whole thing is anti-intuitive and zany to me. Can someone tell me what's the right way to command Numbers to insert the current date and time into a cell, and then leave it?  (=NOW continues to update)

UPDATE 1

The three methods I've tried for entering the current date and time into a cell are:

Enter text-insertion mode in a cell, Insert > Date & Time (which enters just the Date, as Friday, July 4, 2014), enter cell-selection mode on the cell, and change the format to Date & Time (which changes it to Friday, July 4, 2014 12:00 AM).  So, not that one.
Enter text-insertion mode in a cell, type =NOW (which enters 7/4/14 1:31 PM and changes all other instances of cells with =NOW to 7/4/14 1:31 PM !!).  So, definitely not that one.
Enter text-insertion mode in a cell, type 7/4/14 1:34 pm which gets changed to 7/4/14 1:34 PM (i.e. 'pm' got capitalized), indicating that Numbers did recognize it as a date/time.  This works. But it's less than satisfactory, to put it mildly.

I can't imagine this is working as Apple intended.

I believe Insert > Date & Time (and its two companions) are intended for use in headers and footers. These are available after choosing File > Print. When used there, the inserted date can be clicked for a little popup formatter and button to manually reset the time to now.

The feature you want, an auto-generated NOW cell that does not change, is apparently not available.

Option A: Put the NOW function into a cell somewhere.  It shows the current time. Copy the cell, then Edit > Paste Formula Results into the cell you want to have the unchanging time.

Option B: Use a general macro app (like the amazingly capable Keyboard Maestro) to generate your date/time text and paste it into a cell.

In both cases, choose the date and time formats you want on the final cell.

(Numbers 3.5.3 used for this answer)

it should work if you first enter the content  (in your case =NOW) and then format the cell.

if you enter a formula as content it goes per default always to automatic.

If you wana now why? - It's because this. Thinking from the View of a Developer what would happen if a user adds in a formula witch generates text and not a date/time but has before assinged a Dateformate to the cell -> the Whole Application would crash so -> no go -> needs to have an other solution -> so what else maybe detect that it won't work and ask the User to change to a possible format -> what when the user sometimes does it correct (also show the Format choose dialog or not also what if he knows what hes doing, and don't want to see any dialog) -> result Dialog message is not a good solution so what else maybe doing a switch to automatic always -> its always the same so users get used to it and it works although a user doesn't know what hes doing. Only down point users have to get used to it to first enter data and then formating it. But wait shouldn't they even been used to it caused by Text/Letter Writing Applications . YES its really the same there first enter content/text then formatting it.

So i hope now it is clear why you have to first enter the formula and then second change the formate of the cell.


How can I explain to my friend that running a "hackintosh" is a violation of the law? I have a friend who has never owned a Mac. He has just built a "hackintosh" by installing VMWare on his PC running Windows, and downloading a pirated, hacked copy of Mac OS X Yosemite in a portable VMWare virtual machine volume from somewhere online.

He claims to be astonished and unbelieving when I tell him that what he's doing is illegal. He's stealing. He's committing piracy.

He tells me that he installed some hacked "distro" of Mac OS X called "Niresh". He tells me that he assumed that it was legitimate because it appeared to be supported by a large community of computer enthusiasts. He actually said to me "It wouldn't be on the Internet if it was illegal".

Now he's hitting me up for help doing further hacks to make his "hackintosh" behave exactly like a real Mac. He's asked me to run a Terminal script on my Macintosh to output my UUID, MLB (Main Logic Board serial number) and ROM values from my real Macintosh so he can clone these identifying numbers to his "hackintosh" volume.

He says, "No way. I've payed plenty of money to Apple. I bought four iPhones for my family, and an iPad too. So what's wrong with running a Hackintosh?"

He's a research scientist, and I believe he might pay attention to an authoritative published source that explains why what he is doing is illegal.

Can anybody help me find information that I can use to prove to him that what he's doing is illegal?

Update

I sent my friend @cmason's information about the Apple OS X License Agreement, and I believe I have convinced my friend that what he is doing is not legal or ethical.

I also warned him that because he'd installed a version of Mac OS X that had been completely and thoroughly hacked, cracked, and had all its Apple-built-in security disabled, this means that it would be likely that what he downloaded and installed is pre-infected with any manner of root kits, rats, malware and viruses, and that he might now be part of some criminal enterprise's botnet. That helped to get his attention as well.

The mere fact that Apple claims that creating a hackintosh violates the DMCA, and that their EULA is an enfoceable contract, does not make either so. There are rulings in their favor from the Psystar case, but it is not clear whether those rulings apply to end-users or only to companies like Psystar who were reselling hackintoshes.

The chance of an individual being sued is essentially zero, because Apple doesn't want the bad PR of exposing their morally repugnant, monopolistic, anti-consumer tactics to the public any more than necessary.

It is my (totally non-authoritative paralegal-school dropout) opinion that even if Apple's EULA were ruled enforceable, the clause forbidding use on non-Apple hardware is clearly a tying agreement in violation of the Clayton anti-trust act of 1914, and so would be thrown out.

First off who cares, it is what it is, if hes truly blissfully unaware that it is indeed infact illegal that's his problem not yours. Second the reality of the matter is that it doesnt matter cause apple doesnt care enough to go after individuals for this. Lastly if he wants something free and better than Apple OS point him to distrowatch where he can choose from many different free open source linux distrobutions


What are the maximum temperatures for my MacBook Pro? I have this MacBook Pro (3,1). I know there are maximum temperatures at which the system will shut itself down in order to prevent damage. I know this because I have seen it happen a couple of times

When I run Windows, apparently the OS doesn't care to throttle power in order to reduce dangerous heat like Mac OS X does. I now have a program that monitors CPU and GPU heat when I run Windows 7, and it will sound an alarm if they reach a pre-set ceiling.

My question is, how do I know what the emergency shutdown temperature is so I can set the alarm limit appropriately (low enough to trigger before catastrophe, but high enough that it doesn't trigger when things are still okay)?

This page from Intel seems to be telling me that the CPU should not go above 100°C ...does that seem like the number I'm looking for?

Nvidia doesn't seem to say anything about temperatures on the product page. User forums seem only to speculate on what is or isn't safe with no real specifications to back them up.

How can I find these numbers, either from Intel & Nvidia, or from Apple? Or, is there a general ceiling that I can go by to make sure my alarm warns me before an emergency shutdown?

I have a pre-2009 Unibody MacBook Pro. My Mac went over 105°C and still worked.

Typing was about 200% slower—around one word per minute—but I was playing a Flash-based game and have noticed the game raises the temperature to around 90°C in about 5 minutes of playing.

So I think the maximum temperature is around 110–120. Then it shuts off automatically.

per apple it is this: "Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)"
the info is here: http://support.apple.com/kb/SP13 scroll down to "Electrical and environmental requirements"
That's the outside temperature you should operate it at or use it, not the internal temperature.


Safari 7.0.4 doesn't remember my login status. "Remember me" not working (OS X 10.9.3) The problem is that I must press "log in"/"sign in" button on most web-services again and again per day. All login/passwords are stored successfuly but the feature which is often called "remember me" doesn't works. What could be the reason for this bug?
In before: the cookies are enabled.

UPD> I must say that I have an iPhone and an iPad with enabled keychain sharing via iCloud but the problem I have on the mac never happens on my devices. Maybe it will helps.

I can't believe I've finally fixed the bug.

Follow these steps:

go to Disk utility
select your disk on the left list
press "Repair Disk Permissions" on the right view

here is the screenshot
http://monosnap.com/image/5aVsTd4te6SD6Tp1UuxjyIi3ov1xHs.png

Hope this helps somebody!

My best recommendation is to use Chrome on Mac OS. If you have a google account it syncs all your passwords and more across all devices. I'm an apple guy across the board and I use chrome for web browsing for exactly the issues you mentioned.


How can i speed up the animation of hiding the menu bar? I recently installed OS X El Capitan and figured out I could hide the menu bar. But it would be nice if i could accelerate the animation. For hiding the dock menu I use these defaults. I wondered whether I can do this for the menu bar?

defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 10;

How can I get there anyway behind how I can change this in the future for other things? Is there anywhere documentation of adjusting defaults?

Thanks in advance.

As of macOS Sierra 10.12.6 there is no preference for controlling the animation speed of the menubar hiding animation. It used to be there, but was removed in Yosemite. The only workaround is to press Ctrl-Fn-F2 (or Ctrl-F2 if you inverted the Fn key) to immediately show and activate the menu bar. You can then navigate by keyboard or click items with the cursor.

For me, it seems that this does the trick

defaults write com.apple.finder autohide-delay -float 0
killall Finder

You can put it all in one command with && or ; to link the two commands if you prefer.


No security options for external hard disk erase in Disk Utility I'm trying to erase an external disk drive that I had been using as a backup disk. There are no options for me to securely erase - the option just isn't there at all.

It is currently formatted as MAC OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted).

I have a second HDD drive that when mounted shows the security options when erasing.

Any ideas what is going on here? This is a new problem for me; I'm sure I've secure erased this disk before.

Edit: I've just noticed that the only difference between the two disks is that the one that could be securely erased is down as a 'USB External Physical Volume' whereas the disk I'm having the problems with comes up as a 'CoreStorage logical volume'. Is this the issue?

MacOS doesn't let you do a Secure Erase on encrypted volumes because there's no point: a single erase will delete the encryption keys; and any residual data on the disk will be meaningless junk that cannot be decrypted.

Multiple zeroing of a mechanical disk can put significant stress on it and shorten its lifespan.

Similarly, MacOS doesn't let you secure erase SSDs, because that's also a pointless exercise: doing the erase doesn't actually make it more securely erased.

Why is a secure erase 'not necessary' for SSD's?

I've found the answer, and I'm going to leave this question up in case it helps someone else.

The issue with the disk was that it had been encrypted. I needed to reformat it with no encryption for it to be recognised as a USB External Physical Volume instead of a CoreStorage logical volume. From there it can be securely erased as normal.


Will Apple Music work with iPod Classic and iPod Nano? Will I be able to sync offline Apple Music to non-internet Apple devices e.g. iPod Nano and iPod Classic?

Apple Music is not available on iPod nano and iPod shuffle.

See footnote 3: http://www.apple.com/uk/music/

Get AirPlay Recorder and download copies that can be transferred.

;)


Permission Problems for copied files from NAS I access my Synology NAS via AFP and can open/edit all of my files directly on it. But when I copy a file to my desktop I can't open it. Finder tells me I don't have appropriate permissions.
When I look at the permissions (CMD + I) on …
… my NAS:

(unknown): read & write
everyone: no permissions

… my desktop:

staff: read & write
everyone: no permissions

ls -l will print (for both paces): ----rwx---  1 suntrop  staff  35354  4 Jul 10:32 File.docx
Is this a problem on the Mac or Synology or my settings?

Sounds like a permission problem. I had a similar issue. Files created by one user in two groups (administrator & user) on NAS were not being able to read by users only in the user group. I tried reseting ownership/permissions using File Station from DiskStation and did nothing. I figured something was wrong with root folder permissions on shared folder - and yes, they were owned by root and 777 chmod.

I've managed to fix this by:

On the Synology - control panel - win/mac/nfs - goto Mac File Serivce (AFP) and turn off Apply default UNIX permissions (Mac file services enabled) - root of your problem
log on to NAS via ssh, go to most root shared folder and do

chown -R nobody:users shared_folder/
chmod -R 755 shared_folder/

used info from here, here and here.


Export iMessages in human readable form for archival I have a long (several months' worth) iMessage conversation with a contact.  He lost these messages when he re-installed his OS, but I still have the archive.  There is some important information there that we'd like to keep.

Is there a simple way to export this conversation for archival in a human readable form, and also keep any images?

I can select parts of the conversation, copy it to the clipboard and paste it into a rich text document, but this discards all images.  I'm looking for a way that keeps the images.

Note: I use iMessage on OS X only, not iOS.

(Ideally I'd also like to export all non-image file attachments, but I'm not expecting that this will be possible.)

If you know the iMessage account of your contact here is a bash script of mine to retrieve text + images.

#Parameter is a iMessage account (email or phone number i.e. +33616.... )
if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
    echo "Enter a iMessage account (email of phone number i.e +33616.....) "
fi
login=$1

#Retrieve the text messages

sqlite3 ~/Library/Messages/chat.db "
select is_from_me,text from message where handle_id=(
select handle_id from chat_handle_join where chat_id=(
select ROWID from chat where guid='iMessage;-;$1')
)" | sed 's/1\|/me: /g;s/0\|/budy: /g' > MessageBackup.txt

#Retrieve the attached stored in the local cache

sqlite3 ~/Library/Messages/chat.db "
select filename from attachment where rowid in (
select attachment_id from message_attachment_join where message_id in (
select rowid from message where cache_has_attachments=1 and handle_id=(
select handle_id from chat_handle_join where chat_id=(
select ROWID from chat where guid='iMessage;-;$1')
)))" | cut -c 2- | awk -v home=$HOME '{print home $0}' | tr '\n' '\0' | xargs -0 -t -I fname cp fname .

Export iMessages app allows you to save, print, backup and recover SMS/iMessages to your Mac/PC.


Can't download any apps on iPad 1 I have an iPad 1 with iOS 5.1.1 that won't download any apps or update its OS. It was donated to my school so it was totally wiped before we got it.

I've tried the work around previously mentioned of downloading the apps in iTunes then dragging them over to my device that is also connected to iTunes. When I do this, a dialogue box comes up saying it was unable to install the app because the app requires a newer version of iOS. I'm really hoping Apple didn't make it so a perfectly good piece of tech is obsolete by not making iOS upgrades or apps compatible with their older technology.

The iPad 1 is literally almost 7 years old, which is an eternity in computers, but even more so in mobile devices. You won't be able to upgrade your device past iOS 5.1.1. Even if it can be argued that maybe it could've gotten one or two more updates, that Apple stopped updating it prematurely, at some point the hardware is literally incapable of running the software. The iPad 1 has long since passed that point. (It received OS updates for two years after release.)

Most apps (at least commonly-used and updated ones) have long since abandoned iOS 5.x as a supported platform. Even Facebook, which has a vested interest in ensuring that the reach of its app is as wide as possible, requires iOS v8 or above. Instagram requires iOS v8 or above. Google Maps requires iOS v7 or above. The list goes on. The hardware simply isn't capable of running modern apps.

Apple has a track record of supporting hardware far longer than its competitors. Most iOS devices receive four years of updates, compared to competitors who ship devices with versions of Android that are outdated at the time the phone is released, and then maybe get one update if it's a particularly well-selling model.

First you need a latest iPhone or iPad etc.now you have an apple Id which log in your iPhone and then this apple Id log in your iPad old version . On the app store of iPad and go purchase option and than you download the purchases app


Converting RAW into JPEG in Photos Is there a way, in Apple Photos, to convert a lot of RAW pictures into JPEGs and delete the RAW version, to save space? I'm looking for an automatic way of converting all RAW pictures into JPEG as I have several thousands.

Yes, you can select the RAW photos, then select "Export..." from the File menu.

There you can select JPEG as the file format, then also select any options for size and quality you desire.

Clean you mac 3 will do it, it finds all your raw and converts them, but be careful what you ask it to do and i believe theres a cost


What's the best NAS for home usage with Macs? Please share your experiences and reviews about NAS (Network-Attached Storage) below. In particular, rate their compatibility with Macs, OS X, iTunes, Time Machine, AppleTV, and other Apple-specific tools. The goal is for future users to be able to easily find the best Mac-compatible NAS appliance.

Rules:

Use a single answer for each NAS (no duplicates, please).
Vote (up or down) on any NAS you have experience with.

Also welcome: useful reference links, such as this one from xlr8yourmac.com.

Synology DiskStation
The Synology DSM software has built-in support for Macs including Apple Fileshare Protocol (afp) and Time Machine support. It has an iTunes server in addition to a regular DLNA Media server. As it is Linux based it is easy to configure the NAS to do rsync backups (ssh login).
It has a great web-based desktop-style interface that is very easy to understand and use. The DSM software is constantly being updated and improved.
They have solutions from 2-disk on up to 15-disk.  You can find the 4-disk DS411j without drives for less than $400.

QNAP is surprisingly perfect actually ;o)
I use TS-419 for my home use and pretty happy with it.


How to find all images in folder I'd like to list all images in a folder (and subfolders), but I get no results in Finder for any search unless I search 'This Mac'.

I select the folder I wish to search, select 'images' as the 'kind' in the search box, top right, but although it says 'Searching "foldername"' nothing ever gets returned, unless I select 'This Mac',  what am I doing wrong?

I get frustrated using the Finder application to find anything. I guess I don't have a mind that works like the authors of the Finder application. If you are used to using commands you can try the following.

Open a Terminal application window.
Use the cd command to change to the base folder where the files
are. The command pwd will give your current folder.
Enter to the command

find . -name "filesToFind" -print

and the current base folder and all subfolders will be searched.

For example to find all files ending the .txt on your desktop, open a Terminal window and type:

cd desktop
find . -name "*.txt" -print

Note: The instructions for the find command can be found by typing the command man find or at this link.

To find (jpg,png,svg) you can type:

find . -name "*.**g" -print


Looking for a program similar to Alfred and Keyboard Maestro Despite Alfred and Keyboard Maestro being able to trigger many things by shortcut, they both require you to use a modifier and key to work. Though Alfred does support a double tap of shift, option and command, it appears to stop there.
x
What I'd like is an application to detect patterns like:
double tap command followed by a double tap of option. Which then opens whatever you choose.

Anyone know if such application exists?

Thanks.

Keyboard Maestro can do this in a number of ways.  An entirely extensible way is to make a sequence of self-disabling macros, something like this:

Macro: First Command Key
Trigger: Device Key Command Key
Actions:
Disable Macro "First Command Key"
Enable "Second Command Key"
Pause 3 Seconds <- adjust as necessary
Disable Macro "Second Command Key"
Enable Macro "First Command Key"

and then

Macro: Second Command Key
Trigger: Device Key Command Key
Actions:
Disable Macro "Second Command Key"
Enable "Second Command First Option Key"
Pause 3 Seconds <- adjust as necessary
Disable Macro "Second Command First Option Key"

and then

Macro: Second Command First Option Key
Trigger: Device Key Option Key
Actions:
Disable Macro "Second Command First Option Key"
Enable "Second Command Second Option Key"
Pause 3 Seconds <- adjust as necessary
Disable Macro "Second Command Second Option Key"

and then

Macro: Second Command Second Option Key
Trigger: Device Key Option Key
Actions:
Disable Macro "Second Command Second Option Key"
Perform whatever actions desired.

etc

It'll take a couple minutes to set up, but you can configure it any way you like.

Just as a direction, as I don't really have time to make sure this does what you want. Typinator (http://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/features.html) is a keystroke replacement program that can also run scripts. So you can in theory set any combination of keys to trigger a script and that in turn could open a program, take over the world or whatever. Might be worth a shot.


How can I enable Trackpad tap-to-click for the login window in OS X 10.8? In older OS X versions, this used to work just fine:

defaults write /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences com.apple.mouse.tapBehavior -int 1

It would enable tap to click for built-in MacBook Trackpads for the root user, which would also affect the login screen. There are similar commands to enable it for Bluetooth-based Magic Trackpads as well.

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work in OS X 10.8 anymore. Is there some other way of doing this in Mountain Lion?

Turns out you can add this as a function in the Terminal:

sudo defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad Clicking -int 1

That worked for me, thanks to these guys - http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1218257

System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad > Trackpad Options > check Enable Dragging with/without Draglock.


How do I show the icons of Windows executable on OS X? Instead of the icons all showing up as the same for each .exe in Finder, is there a plugin or something that will let me see what the executable icons actually look like?

For example, .app on Finder has their own icons like this:

I want the .exe ones to also have their own icons depending on what program they are.

This issue is resolved by updating to MacOS 10.12


How to set proxy on OS X Terminal permanently? For every new session in OS X terminal, I have to make my proxy settings again.  I do this by entering the command

export http_proxy="username:password@ip address:port number"

Is there a way to make these proxy settings once for all?

Your http proxy (just for some web sites not https ones and not for the rest of the internet) can be set for each terminal session by adding the line

export http_proxy="username:password@ip address:port number"

to your ~/.bash_profile file

Note this will only affect command line programs.

I'm assuming you mean aliases, not proxys.

Add it to ~/.bashrc and ~/.bash_profile. See this guide for more depth. I don't believe OS X supports a ~/.bash_aliases file.


How to make right click using keyboard only on a Mac? Is there way to set a keyboard shortcut or key to simulate a mouse right click but without touching trackpad or mouse?

E.g. Imagine you have a list of files in Finder. You move your selection by going up and down with keyboard arrows. When you are happy with selection, you "press a button" and it simulates as if you did a secondary click on the file you selected earlier with the keyboard. The context menu should not open where the mouse pointer is, otherwise I'd have to move it over selection first, which ruins the keyboard-only workflow.

On Mac currently, all current right click options need me to touch trackpad or mouse:

Two finger single tap
CTRL+click
Tap in right area of trackpad if enabled in Trackpad Settings.

Similar to following windows option key.

I don't know any way to show a context menu for items selected with the keyboard like what the menu key does in Windows.

To assign a keyboard shortcut for performing a secondary click at the current coordinates of the pointer, you can either:

Use a private.xml like this with Karabiner:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
  <item>
    <name>Right Mousebutton</name>
    <identifier>rightMouseButton</identifier>
    <autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::OPTION_R, PointingButton::RIGHT</autogen>
  </item>
</root>

Use BetterTouchTool:

Use Keyboard Maestro:

Download MouseTools and assign a shortcut to MouseTools -rightClick.


Prompt for encrypted disk password on startup I enabled the full disk encryption or at least I think so. The HD shows up as "Encrypted Logical Partition" in Disk Utility.

When I boot up the macbook however I can choose between logging in as Andreas Bonini - with my user account password - or entering the disk password.

If I choose the former option, I am never asked for the disk password.

This is not what I had in mind -- I wanted something like TrueCrypt, where everything on the disk is encrypted and the only way to access it is entering the disk password; the macbook shouldn't even be able to know what user accounts if any are present before unlocking the disk.

My user account password is obviously considerably less secure than the disk password.

You can remove yourself from being able to unlock the disk:

sudo fdesetup remove -user username

Goto System Preferences
Open Security & Privacy
Select the FileVault tab
Turn Off FileVault

I had the same issue. This fixed it.


How to disable the Macbook internal display and only use the external display on Snow Leopard? Preferably without having to reboot etc, use magnets, or open/close the lid + waking it via USB peripherals I would like to have my MacBook display in "projector only" mode. Ideally, I'd like to be able to move already-on MacBook from the lounge to my desk, plug in the external display, and have it work with minimal fuss while still using the MacBook keyboard and track-pad.

Windows 7 really nailed this feature. Winkey + P is all you need to swap between modes.

Is it possible to disable the Macbook display and use only the external display, a la Windows 7's projector only mode?

You might want to disable it by turning down the brightness to zero and put it in clone display mode. I think it would be equivalent. It is a trivial answer but it should work.

I am also in exactly the same situation and looking for such a solution.  So far no luck.  However, a workaround is to mirror the external display with the macbook, then press F1 till the screen's back light turns off.


Shortcut iPhone/iPad app to send email to a specific address? I send lots of emails to a small number of people.  Rather than having to send emails to them through the native Mail app, I'd like to have an app that I can "click" on that automatically has a specific address already filled in and seeks only a subject and message-contents.

I'd like to have three of these, each doing the same thing, but going to different email addresses.

I've never written an iOS app and don't feel like learning how, but I haven't yet found a way to either create forms or encapsulate macros or other paths to doing what I want.  I've tried doing this by navigating to a webmail "send email" screen via the Safari browser, filling in the To field, and then saving it as a shortcut, but when clicked on the screen appears without the email.

Any other ideas?

There are at least two apps which support something like this:

Drafts

Note application with the ability to define actions for these notes based on the standard URL scheme. Sending mails to pre-defined addresses is easily possible
LaunchCenter Pro

Quick starter for apps, using URLs as well. Using an URL with the mail recipient included will open Mail with an empty mail already addressed correctly.


"No definition found" I recently restored my iPhone 5 from backup, and noticed that my dictionary always gives the message "No definition found" (although this could have started earlier and I just didn't notice until now). I tried selecting Manage from the bottom left of the empty dictionary message, then deleting and re-adding a dictionary; however, I still get the same message.

An Apple Support discussion, iPhone 5, my 'define' word feature no longer is an option. How can I get it back?, suggests the following:

  Go to Settings > General > International > Language
  Change the language to one of Apples supported languages like Spanish.
  Go to your notepad, type "test", press hold, select the word, and click the "define" that now appears.
  This will tell you there is no current dictionary, and prompt for one to be downloaded.
  Assure you are on a stable Wi-Fi network, and hit download.
  Once complete, go back to your language settings and switch back to your native language.
  Enjoy your dictionary feature without having to "reset" your phone.

Highlight ("Select"), and try to "Define," a word.
If it comes up with "No definition found," click on "Manage" (lower left corner).
Download your preferred dictionary from the Apple Cloud (by tapping on the appropriate cloud and arrow symbol).


How to disable face detection in Photos for OS X I don't like the feature that automatically detects faces in Photos for OS X because of the unnecessary CPU and disk space consumption. A photo library of 360 MB generated 50 MB of face detection data inside the Photos Library.

Is there any way to disable this feature in Photos for OS X?

Apparently you can stop face recognition by quitting iPhotos,  opening a terminal and typing the following (and press enter):

defaults write com.apple.iPhoto PKFaceDetectionEnabled 0

I guess you'll then need to manually delete all the faces it's recognised thus far.

As for the new "Photos" app, I don't think you can disable the face detection.

You can find the option in View > Hide Face Names.


Can you still create an Apple ID with a name that's not an e-mail address? I have an Apple ID that is not an e-mail address(*). When you visit the “Create an Apple ID” page on the Apple ID site though, it says you need to “Enter your primary email address as your Apple ID.” I'm not sure how I got my existing Apple ID that is not an email address, from what I can tell from Apple's FAQ page it may have something to do with MobileMe (though I never had a paid MobileMe account; it could also be from using the Apple Developer Connection site).

Is it still possible to create a new Apple ID somehow and not use an e-mail address as the ID, or is this a legacy MobileMe option only?

(*) To clarify: the Apple ID is associated with an e-mail address of course, and that's where my receipts are sent to when I buy something in iTunes (let's say “john.doe@gmail.com”), but my Apple ID username that I use to sign in in iTunes or on the Apple ID page is not that e-mail address at all (let's say it's “cool_john”).

It a not possible to create a non-email address Apple ID any longer.

As a matter of fact, they are becoming more and more inconvenient, as various Apple services begin to assume that your Apple ID is an email. If you have not started to notice it yet, trust me, you will, soon.

I recently changed my non-email Apple ID to the linked email address. You can change the username of an Apple ID without starting a new account.

Where you got an Apple ID with no @:

Back in the early days of ADC, developer logins were required to be only alphanumeric.  When Apple IDs were introduced, ADC IDs were converted to Apple IDs unchanged. Apple also strongly encouraged developers to request a "person merge" of any other Apple ID into this developer Apple ID.


Macbook Pro 15" replacement Keyboard / Keys i am using a macbook pro 15" early 2011 unibody with an german (DE) keyboard. and that sucks really hard. So ive decided to change it, and it should be working because the english international and the german keyboard-layout are the same.

But here's my problem i dont really know where to buy it. Nor Apple Store neither ebay haven't something like that. Any suggestions??

BIG thanks in advance. I'm going crazy with this german keyboard. :(

Here is an English-language keyboard cover for the European keyboard that you already have. It costs US $30. This would provide a good solution to your problem with no need to install any parts. It is designed to remain in place all the time, while you type, and you can leave it on when you close the MacBook. In addition, the cover provides protection from spills and wear-and-tear.

Make sure you are ordering the exact correct part for your exact model of MacBook.

http://www.kbcovers.com/servlet/Detail?no=487

I do not know if the official Apple Stores sell individual laptop keyboard layouts. However, if your local Apple Store does not sell them; my recommendation is to search within your city or closest major city for the mom-and-pop, brick-and-mortar, non-official Mac stores.

For example, I live two towns away from Austin and there is nothing good around here for my Mac accessory needs. I use a search engine to get local results for Austin and it's usually pretty easy to find a store that has just what I need. Sometimes they'll even ship  to my address.

Good luck.


How do I password-protect access to specific apps in iOS? currently, I have a 4 digit lock on my phone.

I know this isn't really secure - and can be broken through if neccessary. It just kind of stops the situation if someone picks up my phone, they won't be able to dial people or write and read my emails straight away.

What I find is that most of the apps I have aren't really worth securing. Like I don't care if someone plays a game or plays a song or checks the weather. And it's really annoying having to unlock the phone every time I want to do anything with it.

Essentially, it's just the stuff like phone, messages, email that I would like a code for.

So I was wondering, are there any features on the phone or any apps that'll allow me to only ask for a keycode when I want to open certain icons or apps?

The only way to passcode protect individual applications, including built in system ones is to jailbreak the phone and install a jailbreak tweak like Locktopus or Lockdown Pro. Both of these tweaks let you set a text passcode as well as a numerical one. The reason an AppStore application cannot provide this functionality is because AppStore apps are Sandboxed. This means they are limited in how they can interact with other applications, and the iPhone itself.
Alternatively, replace the application you are currently using with an AppStore alternative that has a passcode lock built into the application. This wont protect the data in the original app, but if you want to secure data behind a passcode you could move the data into the passcode protected application and delete it from the original application. This obviously wont work for contacts, but could work for photos and notes.
See the iOS application "MyPics" for an example of a photo app where you can set a passcode to protect access. Another example is the My Secret Folder application which lets you import data into it and set a passcode to prevent people from accessing that data within the app.

You can use the My secret folder app which requires a password to access it. Then your apps would be in there.


Is there a way to extend the time you can talk to Siri for? If I start Siri and ask to send a message or email, it will ask who to, takes the name from me etc etc.

When I come to saying the message I can only say a few words before being cut off. I then need to say edit to start again, or tap the message to edit manually.

However if I were to create a message without using Siri, and then tap the microphone button, I can talk to the voice recognition for longer, and manually stop it listening.

Is there a way to change the length of time Siri leaves after you have finished talking or a way to change its sensitivity to sound?

You can prevent Siri from cutting you off in the command mode by holding down the Home button until you're done speaking.

Normally you activate Siri in the command mode by holding the Home button until Siri responds, then releasing the button and talking.  In that mode she'll cut you off pretty quickly.  Continuing to hold the Home button bypasses that limitation.

A very short pause is enough for Siri to think you are done.  Get in the habit of CONTINUOUS speaking and Siri should accept all your words.


Will installing XtraFinder make my system vulnerable? I am tempted to install XtraFinder on my mac because of all the features it provides but am worried that it may leave my system vulnerable to a security breach.

The installation dialog box says the following

  OS X 10.11 and later users should read about System Integrity Protection before installing.

I went to the link provided (System Integrity Protection):

  You need to partially disable System Integrity Protection. I do not encourage you to disable System Integrity Protection. It makes your computer less safe.

The warning is something to do with code injection into Finder.

Does this mean that only XtraFinder is allowed to inject into Finder?
Will this allow some other code to wreak havoc on my system?
Will   installing XtraFinder make my system vulnerable?

Go ahead and follow the directions. When you finish, re-enable System Integrity Protection and restart.


Can't type ' / ' (slash) after the letter ' l ' (ell) in Terminal, makes 'l' with stroke character 'ł' When I type any word ending with an 'l' (ell, like "local") and then press the / key, the 'l' is replaced with another symbol and the slash, '/', is omitted. How can I deactivate that function?

This looks like the behavior of some very old Mac fonts (Palatino was one of them) where you could make the character l with stroke (used in Polish and elsewhere) by typing such a sequence.  Try changing your font.  If this is in fact the cause of the problem,  you should get rid of the font that does this, which should not be on any modern mac.

This looks to me like a rendering bug rather than a feature. I would try increasing the font size on your terminal.


Is there a way I can obtain Mavericks without having to download? My Wifi connection is not stable enough to be able to download 5.3 Gb. Is it possible to download from a thumb-drive? Does the Apple store sell Mavericks on a thumb-drive?

Yes, you can purchase directly from the apple store, If they don't have a physical Device to sell, you can take your device and get it upgraded for free.

I would like to suggest that you ask a friend with a fast internet connection to download it.

After the download has finished, just copy the installation file (you can find it in the Application folder) to your USB and then double click it at home.


Looking for the ultimate IDE for Mac I am a little disenchanted with development on the Mac right now. I need a single IDE that can handle all of my development needs. I did notice there are other questions on this topic already, but those did not cover my specific needs of:

Must support at least HTML, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails and PHP syntax highlighting, bonus if there are more language plug-ins available
Must support the ability to connect to FTP and SFTP
Must support handling of projects/sites
Must have some level of code completion, even if it is just at the variable level
Must support syntax formatting
Must be able to recognize and highlight ERB/TPL files as HTML

Are there any suggestions for such an IDE out there?

I actually think the idea of a single, unified, development environment like what you're after is somewhat antithetical to OS X design principles. One of the great things I've found, since switching to OS X for development work about a year ago, is that many OS X application developers share my own personal philosophy when it comes to software: do less, but do it really, really well.

As such, my current development environment on OS X is less unified than it was on Windows or Linux, but far, far more stable, robust, and ultimately: productive.

For coding I use TextMate. It seems almost trivially simple at first and then you discover bundles and it's built-in command line filtering and it takes off. It will handle the highlighting tasks you requested. It has projects, and while they seem kind of loose at first, you'll grow to appreciate it. Trust me. And it does handle code completion, tag closing, tag matching -- the sort of stuff you'd expect -- it's just not obvious, but it's there in Bundles and waiting for you to customize it.

Update: I've moved off TextMate and on to Sublime Text 2. The regular updates and the Python-based extensions were a major draw. It's been a year now and no regrets with that switch.

I use Kaleidoscope for diffs. It's just an a beautiful diff tool.

My git tool is Tower and my Subversion tool is Versions. Both awesome.

For permanent, remote drive access via ssh I use MacFUSE to connect to the remote location and mount it as a drive on my Mac. This is a superior option to built-in ssh or ftp support in the IDE because all the programs on my Mac can now work with files on that share.

I also use CyberDuck for it's awesome cost and excellent Amazon S3 support. I could even get away with just CyberDuck, no MacFUSE, if I had to. But I don't. :)

Update: I've switched to ForkLift 2 as my primary means to interact with remote file systems. It's got a nicer UI than CyberDuck and a few less "quirks" to it. I'll still occasionally open up CyberDuck when I need to deliver a signed URL to an S3 object.

Finally: iTerm 2. A terminal app befitting OS X. It really is quite a fantastic terminal. Bookmarks make it easy to get to my AWS machines quickly. The UI is clean. And tabs.

All of those things replace the clunky IDE (Komodo Pro) I use to use on Linux and Windows (and never really liked, just tolerated). And I don't even know that they're not all "unified" in one cluttered, modal window. No sir.

For reference, I write a lot Python, some HTML, JavaScript, Perl, and Java. And the occasional bit of C and C++.

Update: There's more Go in my day to day coding now. My toolset integrated that relatively young language without so much as a hiccup.

How about NetBeans for OS X?

It supports Java, JavaScript, PHP and HTML5.