Why do I have to drag my new apps into the application folder? I'm a new Mac user and I've been installing a few different apps for different things. A lot of these use .dmg files.

Why exactly do they all expect me to drag the icon into the application folder? What is the point of this?

An application on a Mac is just a folder full of files with a .app extension. However, macOS hides this fact from you and displays the folder as a file with an icon. Now when you download something it's very uncomfortable to download multiple separate folders (without a download manager). Therefore this "App Folder" has to be put inside a single file somehow. This is  accomplished one of three ways:

Using a .zip file (a container that compresses its contents to save space)
Using a .dmg file (which is a flat file filesystem–as opposed to a hierarchical file system)
Make an installer (which, however, also has to be either in a .zip or .dmg because installers are folders on a mac, too)

Since most apps are self-contained and do not need anything outside of the app folder, an installer is not only overkill but also slower than just distributing the app folder.

You can obviously launch apps from wherever you want; it's only a custom or a recommendation to put them into /Applications as it easier for you to find it again and it works with multiple users.

DMG files are compressed and read-only. Applications frequently need to be able to update or change components inside themselves; at a minimum, when a new version is detected and it offers to install an update - it won't be able to delete itself and put the new version in its place. Indeed, you'll probably find that running an application off a DMG will result in an "was downloaded from the internet" message on every launch. That doesn't happen if you move it to the right place.

Running an application off a locked DMG is a sure-fire way to run into problems. Just drag the application to some place on your hard disk - preferably one of the Applications folders.

There are certain locations on your Mac that have special significance to the system - these are places where the Mac goes looking for launchable applications when you double-click a document. They include the top level Applications folder, and a folder called "Applications" in your personal home folder. Mounted DMGs are not part of this, if only because they're not always mounted.


Are there any apps or tools that allow visualizing multitouch finger positions for iOS screencast/recording? I'd like to have a visual indicator of multitouch finger positions as I record the iOS screen of an iPad using AirPlay.

This seems like something that would require a jailbreak. Luckily I do have my iPad JB'd but my searches have not turned up anything.

I needed the same and searched a lot. In my opinion there are three solutions:

Live capture of the gestures one does on your iPad (not professional)
Using a PNG of a pointing arm (hand) in ScreenFlow (or Camtasia).

This works quite well. One can tweak the png a bit (X,Y,Z-coordinates) and with adding video actions it comes to live. It is elaborate though, but with some patience and expertise quite professional.
Buying a M4A or MOV of finger gestures.

Have a look at VideoHive's Touch Screen Finger Gestures for example.

You can purchase them with an alpha channel to incorporate in the screencast. Didn't try that one, but seems the most professional to me. Some costs involved though.

You can use iOS for all format
after effects templates


Some Finder Sidebar Icons Missing? In the Finder windows, the iCloud Drive and Downloads icons are missing from my sidebar. I use CleanMyMac 2 could that have deleted the icons by mistake?

I have rebooted the icons are still gone.

Yosemite 10.10.2 MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)

How can I get these icons back? Any idea what caused them to go away in the first place?

Update:

Can't I just drag the iCloud Drive icon into the info panel and change the icon like that? If so where can I find the original icon from?

This generally happens when you've used a utility that changes your sidebar icons to colorized versions. iCloud Drive and Downloads do not use the standard icon format. These products are based on a SIMBL plugin called ColorfulSidebar that does not recognize the non-standard format. Even if you've changed the icons back to the non-colorized versions, the routine that changes the icons may still be running. You have to totally disable the software that colorized the icons.

It looks like that you've used incompatible version of CleanMyMac 2. Please contact us for further instructions: support@macpaw.com

Regards,
MacPaw Support.


Does appleutd@xmr3.com belong to the Apple up to date program? I applied for the apple up to date program through their site and got now the e-mail with a password protected pdf attachment in it. Xmr3 doesn't really sound like apple. Has anybody some additional info on this?

NOTE: I didn't visit their site because the WOT add-on in safari rated the website with a poor reputation score.

I wonder if you signed up for their Up to Date Program on a web page pretending to be the Apple website. That PDF is most likely a scam, do not open it--It could execute some malicious code. In the last seven years I have yet to see e-mail communication from Apple that does not come from apple.com. Also, I think all of their invoicing is done by using HTML-formatted e-mail messages sent to your Apple ID, not PDF's. Hope this helps.

appleutd@xmr3.com is not a scam. I received an email containing encrypted PDF. The email said password to unlock the PDF will follow and today it did. I unlocked the PDF and it contained the redeem code also it contained the reference number i got when submitting the up to date form. That number matched. Redeem code worked.


Multiple Displays Crashes with El Capitan My dad has a Mac Pro (2009 era) and runs 3 monitors hooked up with DisplayPort. They are not high-res and only about 24". Nothing that a Mac Pro should have any issues with. Everything worked well until he upgraded to El Capitan last week. Almost immediately, it crashed to the login screen. I spent a while troubleshooting the problem and all of the crash reports point to graphics problems (which seems apparent). Right now, he is down to one monitor to mostly rule out the crashes. I found that disabling "each display on it's own space" helped, but if he is working with one display and a notification comes in on the other one, it will consistently crash.

I'm not sure what else to try. Is there a way that we could get him back up to the three monitors? I understand that these problems could point a potential graphics card problem, but I don't think that is the problem considering the direct correlation to the OS upgrade and the crashing. I also haven't been able to find others with similar problems.

I have tried:

Multiple Reboots
Disable: "Preferences -> Mission Control -> Displays have separate Spaces"
Disable: "Preferences -> Mission Control -> Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use"
Confirm that "Automatic Graphics Switching" didn't exist on his machine
More reboots

This problem is well documented on the Apple forums. For the moment, until the next release of El Capitan, you can only run two monitors. The monitors must be connected to one video card. You do not have to remove the other card.

Please search the Apple forums for more details.

New drivers released from Nvidia for El Capitan:

Quadro & GeForce MAC OS X driver release 346.03.02


Apple Music: How to view the list of all loved items? I'm kind of OCD and like to know what data is behind every recommendation system.

Is there a way to view all the loved (hearted) items (songs, playlists, etc.) in Apple Music?

I believe at worst case scenario one could just reset them.

I’m guessing these answers didn’t solve your problem. They didn’t solve mine. Insead I went and got my data from Apple:

Head to Apple’s Data and Privacy portal.
Log in with the Apple ID for which you’d like to download data.
Under Get a copy of your data, click Request a copy of your data.
Select Apple media services information, then press Continue.
Now click Complete the request.
Wait a frickin’ week!
Download the file they email you a link to.
Inside the zip you will find another zip called apple_media_services.zip.
Inside that zip you will find Apple Music Likes and Dislikes.csv.

Super irritating that you have to go through such process to find this.

Just figured this out myself today, so here's how to do it:

Click the heart button (♥) to Love the song
Click the 3-dot button (...) and then click Add to My Music
Create a Smart Playlist where "Loved" = "is true"

Enjoy!


How to turn on the volume of ipod touch with a broken volume button? My ipod touch's volume button on the side to increase the volume doesn't work, no matter how hard I press it against something. The volume down button works.

The music player's sound is at the max, but the device uses another volume that's very low in volume. I can tell when I plug it into a wall, the beep sound is not very audible.

How can I increase the same volume these buttons work on?

You can change the alerts volume in the Settings App.

Open the Settings App.
Go to the Sounds section (typically the top of the second group of settings).
Change the slider under Ringer and Alerts to your desired volume.

If you are having trouble getting it to work it may be because of the auto lock feature on your iPod gen4. If you have control of the sleep button and home button but can't increase the volume and the display on your screen to adjust the volume at the bottom when you are listening to music won't come up. If you have this problem I know just the solution. Go into settings and get into general, then go to auto lock and adjust the time you have it set at to something different and that should solve your problems. It worked for me! If that doesn't fix it than you are well and truly screwed! :-/


Unable to find in App Store, able to redownload using iCloud? I obtained an app from the App Store that I can't find now or was it simply taken down, but I still have the app on my iPod. I'd like to install it on my other iPod.

I don't know that if I backup my iPod (iCloud backup) it'll still be there.

Can I install the app from my backup to my other iPod and still be sure to keep it on my original device?

Connect each phone to iTunes over USB - choose to transfer all purchases to the computer. When all the apps are on iTunes, you can install them on devices that them even when the store online is "out of stock"

You should be able to find the app in the App Store, even if it has been taken down. In the App Store app on your iPod, if you go to the Updates tab and you scroll up a little bit there is an option to see all your purchased apps. You can then tap "Not on This iPod" to find all the apps you've downloaded that aren't on that iPod, and it should be easy to find there.


Stuck in endless macOS Sierra installation loop I am a long time Apple Mac user since the 1990s, and I have never come across this sort of ridiculous behaviour before.

Yesterday I decided to reinstall macOS Sierra on my iMac. I followed these steps:

I used Command-R to boot into macOS Recovery.
I selected Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities window.
I opted to erase the HD with a 2 pass secure erase. This was successful.
I quit Disk Utility.
I selected Reinstall macOS from the macOS Utilities window.
I clicked continue when it told me to click ‘continue’ to set up the installation.
I clicked continue again when it told me to click ‘continue’ to download and restore macOS
And now I’m back at Step 6 again and get stuck in a loop between steps 6 & 7.

I have tried the above steps again today with the exact same result. Below is a visual representation of this madness:

Also, clicking on 'continue' instantly displays the next/previous screen - there is no indication that anything else is happening - not even the apparent eligibility check.

How do I get out of this looping hell?

I did read installation stuck in a loop due to damaged HD and Mac OS X Sierra installation stuck in a reboot loop but neither is about the same looping scenario as I find myself in.

This is the type of UX pain that really irks me, and very unlike Apple.

Since you're a long time Mac user I'm going to assume you have access to another Mac, so my suggestion would be to try reinstalling a fresh version of macOS Sierra via a USB installer.

Follow the steps below:

On another Mac, download the macOS Sierra installer via the Mac App Store
After its downloaded, the installer will launch automatically. When it does, quit the installer.
Grab a USB flash drive of at least 8GB in size
Connect the USB flash drive to the same Mac
Rename the flash drive to Untitled
Launch the Terminal app
Now enter the following command into Terminal. It may be best to just copy it from here (try triple-clicking) and paste it in.

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app
You will be prompted to enter your user password. Enter it now and press return (note that you won’t see the cursor move or display any of the characters you enter)
At the next prompt (about erasing your drive) press the Y key
Wait for your USB flash drive to be erased (you’ll see the progress via % values appearing within the Terminal window)
Once the erasure is complete, you will see a prompt that files are being copied to the disk. This may take a while, so be patient.
Eventually the copy process will be over and you should see a Done message in Terminal. You can now quit Terminal.
Eject the USB flash drive and now connect it to your iMac (the one you want to reinstall macOS Sierra on)
Startup the iMac holding down the option key
Select the USB flash drive you created from the list of drives and press enter

You should now be able to boot from the USB drive and install macOS Sierra from there.

Let me know if you have any questions.

I also had this and it was the wifi just needed reconnecting to allow verification. .


Restore a lost partition from degraded software mirror RAID I used to store my valuable files on Apple software RAID (mirror). Recently one disk has failed and the mirror became degraded.

I rebuilt the mirror using new drive, following this guide, but seems like there are no partitions on it.

I believe the data on the healthy drive is not corrupted. What programs should I use at this point to retrieve if not the lost partition, but data?

You can try the following programs to retrieve your data from lost/damaged partitions: FileSalvage, Data Rescue, Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery, DiskWarrior. The good practice is to create an image of the actual partition and restore data from it.


How do I start TextEditor from the command line? I work a lot at the command line in a Terminal and would like to start a text editor on a certain file. I'm from Linux Land and normally use kwrite or gedit from a bash shell.  Trying to find the Mac equivalent, as a guess, tried

user> textedit somefile.txt

and

user> texteditor somefile.txt

and

user> TextEditor somefile.txt

and other variations.  I can't seem to find the proper name of the text editor app. (No, vi isn't to my liking.)  Oddly, the guy at an Apple store didn't know this.

Here are some possible answers, all using the 'open' command-line utility.

The -a option means "open the file argument with the named application":

open -a TextEdit file.txt

The -e option means "open the file argument with the TextEdit application":

open -e file.txt

The -t option means "open the file with the default application for editing text files, as determined via LaunchServices". By default, this will be /Applications/TextEdit.app; however, it's possible for this setting to get overridden:

open -t file.txt

Finally, any file that's of the "text" type will get opened by the application bound to the text type if you just say open file.txt. You can use the "file" command to reveal what the operating system thinks the file type is: file file.txt. So, for example, if you renamed "file.txt" to just "textfile" then open textfile would still open it in the default text-file editing application, as long as file textfile still thought that "textfile" was actually a text file.

A short 'help' file on open can be found by running

open --help

Or you can read the whole manual with

man open


How to cd to a directory with a name containing spaces in bash? I tried cd "~/Library/Application Support/"
-bash: cd: ~/Library/Application Support/: No such file or directory

also cd ~/Library/Application Support/
-bash: cd: ~/Library/Application Support/: No such file or directory

You can use the Tab key after pressing the first few characters (this will then "fill in" the rest of the folder for you e.g. type cd ~/LTab fills in cd ~/Library/ then type ApTab and it will fill in the rest for you.

If there is a space between words and you don't want to use the methods above, put a \ (backslash) before the space, e.g. cd ~/Library/Application\ Support.

If the normal ways don't work, trying substituting spaces with %20.

This worked for me when dealing with SSH and other domain-style commands like auto_smb.


How does shareware store its usage? Most shareware (free trial) allows only for limited use e.g. one week or 10 uses. This shareware must have a way of storing the times it was used or for how long you have been using this.

Yet when I trash a shareware app, along with all it's preference files etc (using apptrap) and redownload it, it seems to remember the times used/usage time, even when I delete all of its pref files.

I am alarmed that an application is storing data that persists on my computer even after I deleted what I thought were all traces of the application. If it can store usage data even after I thought I deleted it, there's no limit to the other data about me this software could be storing. I realize that different applications might use different techniques, but a great answer could outline some of the most common mechanisms.

How does an app know how many times it has been used? Where does it store this so that it persists even after I delete the application's preference file?

(this is a question out of pure interest, I don't intend to use this info for malicious purposes)

OSX Applications come in a .bundle file which is basically like a ZIP or other archive file in that it's actually a sort of folder. In that way all of your program files and dependencies are in one, neat package. Sometimes, though, other information like preferences will be stored throughout the system. Typical places to look are /Library and /Users/(user)/Library. Warning - do NOT delete anything unless you really, really want to mess something important up. If you have a legitimate concern I would suggest contacting the developer and asking for assistance.


What screwdriver size is needed for MacBook Pro mid 2012 back cover? What screwdriver size is needed for MacBook Pro mid 2012 back cover?

According to iFixit's teardown the Philips #00 should be used for the "lower case". Is the lower case a synonym for the "back cover"?

Yes.
The back cover is secured with Philips #00 screws.
Note that is says:

The lower case is secured by ten Phillips #00 screws.

You can see the ten screws on the back cover:

four each at the top/bottom
one each on the left/right

The screws are pentalobes and should not be mixed by Philips or torx. If you usa a torx screwdriver you will damage the screws and in worst case you'll make them flat and you will not be able to unscrew them.

More info on pentalobes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw


How do I download Remote.app on an iOS 6 only device? When I try to download Remote.app or Find my friends on a device that is stuck on iOS 6 I am presented with this alert?

  This application requires iOS 7.0 or later.

  You must update to iOS 7.0 in order to download and use this
  application.

Is there anyway around this if I've previously downloaded these applications on my device but deleted them?

Did you backup your phone to your computer? If so, you probably have the old version of the app in the Mobile Applications folder inside your iTunes folder. If you only backed up to iCloud I think you may be out of luck.

It's easy. I'm using "vshare" from Cydia. You need to jailbreak your device, but it's much better than when you need to buy a new apple device just to get your favorite iOS 7 apps. Jailbreak your device. It's free. Learn how to do that with YouTube. I've downloaded a lot of apps that need iOS 7. I downloaded the old version one. I hope this answer will be helpful.


Swap Mouse Button using AppleScript I use mouse with left-hand. My system is shared with other people who are right handed. So, I need frequently to switch mouse button.

I would like to know how to swap mouse button using AppleScript? I am using default mouse come with my iMac machine.

I only tested this with the normal version of the preference pane, and it doesn't probably work if you have a Magic Mouse:

tell application "System Preferences"
    reveal pane "com.apple.preference.mouse"
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "System Preferences"
    tell radio group 1 of window 1
        if value of radio button 1 is 1 then
            click radio button 2
        else
            click radio button 1
        end if
    end tell
end tell

The setting is stored in this key, but I don't know any way to apply changes to it immediately:

defaults -currentHost read -g com.apple.mouse.swapLeftRightButton

You could also use KeyRemap4MacBook:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
<item>
<name>test</name>
<identifier>test</identifier>
<autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::F1, VK_COMMAND | ModifierFlag::NONE, KeyCode::VK_CONFIG_TOGGLE_swapbuttons</autogen>
</item>
<item>
<name>swapbuttons</name>
<identifier vk_config="true">swapbuttons</identifier>
<autogen>__PointingButtonToPointingButton__ PointingButton::LEFT, PointingButton::RIGHT</autogen>
<autogen>__PointingButtonToPointingButton__ PointingButton::RIGHT, PointingButton::LEFT</autogen>
</item>
</root>

See the source for the key code values and predefined settings.

I've updated this code to work with my version of macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (can't guarantee it will work with other versions):

tell application "System Preferences"
    activate
    reveal pane "com.apple.preference.mouse"
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "System Preferences"
    tell radio group "Primary mouse button:" of window "Mouse"
        if value of radio button "Left" is 1 then
            click radio button "Right"
        else
            click radio button "Left"
        end if
    end tell
end tell


Auto join personal hotspot I recently bought an iPad2 (WIFI only) in addition to my iPhone 4 I already had. There are two reason I took the wifi only model:

I am not planning on taking the iPad everywhere I go. That's what the iPhone is for.
I have an unlimited data plan with free tethering on the iPhone. If I ever need Internet on the go, I just make a personal hotspot and use the iPhone's connection on the iPad.

However, in order to join that hotspot, I need to first take the iPhone, go to settings and then I can join the hotspot with my iPad. I guess it's a nice security compromise, however it is still a real pain if I use the iPad 2-3 times per hour over the day at work and have to go to the iPhone's settings every time. This also happens if my GF's iPhone 3G wants to connect to my hotspot (she has no data plan).

Is there a way to allow certain devices to join the hotspot at a moment's notice, without taking out the iPhone itself?

If you connect to the iPhone not via wifi but via bluetooth, there is no need to do anything on the iPhone, just establish the connection using the iPad's bluetooth settings. Of course, bluetooth on the iPhone must then remain always switched on. I do this all the time, the iphons remains in the pocket ...

no there isnt but yes it is a good security compromise.


How can I keep my fan from staying at full speed after replacing the hard drive? I replaced a hard drive in a 2011 iMac (Core i7), though it was a standard hard drive and didn't have a location for the S.M.A.R.T. cord. (Or at least I think that's what it was.) Since then, the internal fan has constantly been running. I don't want the fan to burn out, and it is becoming quite a distraction for the user.

I believe there is a terminal command that turns off the fan, I believe by bypassing the S.M.A.R.T. test, but the Google gods are not forthcoming with this information. Does anybody know how I can turn off the fan?

Macs Fan Control can set the fan of an iMac (or MacBook, or other hardware) to any speed. The coolest thing that it can also set a fan to sensor-based control depending on your new HDD by reading its S.M.A.R.T. temperature.

This free app is much better and powerful than HDD Fan Control, which is currently deprecated but still costs $35. Macs Fan Control also works under Windows in Boot Camp.

Short out the connector that goes to the hard drive and this will tell the fans to return to normal. It's the absence of a connection that makes the fans spin up.


Can I upgrade my MacBook Pro Mid 2010 to 8 or 16 GB RAM? I was told that I could only upgrade to 4 GB. I read on your site that as of 2014 it’s possible to upgrade to 8 GB or 16 GB?

Is this true and how do I do this?

Specs: MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo equipped with 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3.

You probably mean upgrading the RAM to 8 GB or 16 GB.

According to the following Apple support website, your MacBook Pro has a maximum RAM capacity of 8 GB:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165

You would need to get two 4 GB modules with the correct specifications (PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz type RAM) and replace them according to the steps described by Apple for your specific device.

MacSales is saying it can take (2) 8GB DIMMs for a total of 16GB. I'm trying to confirm this as well as I only have 4, and would love to go all the up to 16GB if possible.


How I can prevent Safari popups to increase database size on iPad? Recently I have been getting popups on my iPad2 when using Safari. They say:

Increase database size?
Do you want to allow "https://mobile.twitter.com" to use up to 10 MB storage on your iPad?
Cancel Increase

where Cancel and Increase are buttons.
This popup just occurred five times in succession. I have seen it for Twitter (as shown here) but also (I think) for other sites (Gmail?).
Is there any way to prevent this? Or should I use another browser?

There is no easy way to circumvent this behavior in Mobile Safari.

I know of no alternative browser that accomplishes what you ask, but perhaps if someone else does they will answer or edit my answer.

You can avoid those sites, or give more space when asked. It's one of those "we can't adjust the wind, but we can adjust the sails or steer the boat elsewhere" kind of things at present.

If your iPhone is jailbroken Cydia has an app called AdBlocker. It's in the BigBoss repository & is a dollar or two to purchase. This blocks all popups on mobile safari, what it doesn't stop is the annoying "this website has an app. Do you want to download" message that comes up sometimes.


What happens when I reset the call statistics on an iPhone? I have an iPhone 4. Under Settings > General > Usage, there is a button to "Reset Statistics". After reading the manual, I'm not clear on one point: if I reset the statistics, will the entry under "Call Time: Lifetime" also be reset?

After a quick test, everything but "Call Time: Lifetime" and the statistics under "Time since last full charge" was reset.

It only makes sense that the field "Call Time: Lifetime" doesn't get reset since it shows the the total physical time the phone was being used to call.  If it was restored and set up as a new phone I believe that the setting will then be reset since it will be technically a new life for the phone.  Unless AT&T/Verizon keeps track of that data through your number.  Then you would change your number to reset that field.  Though I wouldn't be trying that anytime soon.

It clears all of your revived and sent data for calls and it will not hurt your apps


How can I know which Wi-Fi protocol my MacBook is using? If I have a router that supports 802.11 N, G, and B, how can I know which one of these my MacBook is currently using to connect to the router?

I'd like to see proof that it's connected using the fastest protocol available, rather than hoping everything is working correctly. For example, the N protocol may not be compatible with the MacBook (if it's an early draft), so it would use G instead. Another situation may arrise if the N protocol is disabled on the router via its settings, which would also cause G to probably be used. Thus, rather than assuming that it's using the fastest protocol, I want actual proof that shows which protocol is being used.

Try to Option+click on the wifi icon on the menu bar. You'll see a lot more information about your current wifi connection.

It looks something lijke this:

Your Airport card should default to the fastest protocol it is capable of.


How can I access my Time Capsule remotely? Can someone please educate me on exactly how I can access my Time Capsule from any other network aside from my own (over the Internet?)

I don't have a static IP address, so would I need DNS forwarding? Would it involve checking my home network's IP while away? Should I get static IP?

Many thanks!!

If You Have a Time Capsule or an AirPort Extreme Base Station with Shared USB Hard Drive

If you have either a Time Capsule (which is basically an AirPort Extreme Base Station with a built-in 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive) or an AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) with an attached USB hard drive, you can share out the Time Capsule/AEBS hard drive and make it accessible via the Internet. To do this:

Start the Airport Utility.
Select your Time Capsule or AEBS. Make a note of the IP Address shown on the right -- you will need it later.
Click Manual Setup.
Check your "Connection Sharing" setting under the Internet Tab. The following tutorial is valid if your "Connection Sharing" is to "Share a public IP address", the normal setup for a home network. You will need to have a static IP address, or use a free dynamic DNS service. If you have a different type of "Connection Sharing," you probably don't need a tutorial to set up remote access to your disk; adapt this one as needed.
Click Disks (at the top of the dialog box), and then click File Sharing.
Select (check) the "Enable file sharing" checkbox and the "Share disks over Ethernet WAN port" checkbox. It is strongly recommended that you also set Secure Shared Disks to "With base station password" and Guest Access to "Not allowed"; not making these changes may allow unauthorized users to access your Time Capsule/AEBS hard drive.
Click Airport (at the top of the dialog box), and then click Base Station.
Enter a Base Station Password and verify it in the Verify Password box.
Click Advanced (at the top of the dialog box), and then click Port Mapping.
Click the plus sign (+) to add a new port mapping.
In the Public UDP Port(s) and Public TCP Port(s) boxes, type in a 4-digit port number (e.g., 5678) that you choose. In the Private IP Address box, type the internal IP address of your Time Capsule or AEBS that you wrote down in step 2 (for example, 192.168.0.1). In the Private UDP Port(s) and Private TCP Port(s) boxes, type 548. Click Continue.
In the Description box, type a descriptive name like "Time Capsule File Sharing" or "AEBS File Sharing". Then, click Done.
When you have made all changes, click Update.

Your Time Capsule/AEBS will restart. Once it does, you are now ready to connect to the Time Capsule/AEBS hard drive via the Internet. To do this when your MBA is away from home:

In the Finder, click Go > Connect to Server.
Type in the correct domain name or external IP address for your network, plus a colon and the port number you specified in step 11. For example, "www.myhomedomain.com:5678" or "123.123.12.123:5678".
Click Connect.
You will be prompted for your user name and password. The user name can be anything you like; the password should be the password for the Time Capsule/AEBS which you specified above.
Click Connect.

Voilà! You are now connected to your Time Capsule/AEBS hard drive from your MBA. You can access files, copy files back and forth between your MBA and the hard drive, delete files, whatever you want, as long as your MBA remains network-connected. The next time you go to connect, it should go even more quickly (especially if you save your password in your keychain, and if you add your home IP address/domain name to your list of Favorite Servers in the Connect dialog box).

Note that the Time Capsule/AEBS will appear in the Shared section of your Finder's sidebar as a server, with the Base Station Name of the Time Capsule/AEBS as the server name.

Taken from http://forums.dealmac.com/read.php?4,2800627

Additional Info:

I know port forwarding can be a big hassle so I thought I would add that you could also use apple's built in "Back To My Mac" feature. This way you can access your Time Capsule's files as well as accessing you home mac files and screen share with your mac over a secure connection.

Try this article: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204618

Worked immediately in a iPhone:
https://www.stratospherix.com/support/getting-started-with-timecapsule.php


iPhone and iPad recovery stops with error 14 yesterday I wanted to update both my iPad and iPhone to iOS 8.0. I usually do this wireless via the phone settings, but yesterday I chose to update from iTunes. So I connected my iPhone 5 to my PC, made a backup and started downloading the newest iOS.

After 30 minutes of downloading it told me something like "The firmware is damaged" and asked me to disconnect the phone from the PC and plug it in again. I've done that, and tried it again. Another 30 minutes later (the downloaded ISPW wasn't saved anywhere, iTunes just disregarded it) the same error popped up.

So I went ahead and downloaded the correct ISPW (iPhone5,2_8.0_12A365) via my browser, which worked. Next I shift-clicked the "Update"-button in iTunes, chose this .ispw and started the update. After fixing a error 3194 (by manipulating my PC's hosts-file) I got my iPhone to start updating for a couple of seconds. Then iTunes terminated the update with an error 14. Now my iPhone is stuck in restore mode and every time I try to update it, it either gets stuck while "restoring iPhone-software" at ~10% (I've been waiting for 20 minutes, the progress bar didn't even move a bit) or stops with the error 14 again.

With my luck I've tried the same thing with my iPad mini (Retina)... Same result, device is now stuck in restore mode and won't update due to error 14.

I've tried another PC, another cable, another USB port, switching it into DFU-mode (it jumps right back into restore), nothing worked.

I've been trying to fix it for the last 5 hours, but hadn't had any luck so far. I hope someone can assist me.

I experienced this (error 14) when updating my iPhone 6.  I backed up the phone and apps in iTunes while downloading the OS update to iTunes.  Then I chose the iTunes Update Now button.  It took 18 minutes to arrive at the error code 14.  My phone then disconnected from my computer and could not be SEEN by my computer until I plugged the USB cable into a different USB port and then plugged in the phone. I was only given a choice to quit or totally reset the phone.  I did a reset which resulted in a choice to have a new phone or to restore it.  The first and second restore attempts failed. I chose restore from the phone choices.

It worked when I used the restore button from iTunes instead of using the choice on the phone. There were approx. 10 apps that did not restore but as I write this the phone is downloading them from the apps store.  My contacts are complete, as are my pictures and other personal data.  Yuck!  Always back up your phone before OS Updates!!!

Go to network settings and try to change DNS to 8.8.8.8, 4.2.2.4 or set to automatically.
Try to download latest version of iTunes.
Restart your computer


How can I add my Facebook friends in Waze? I'm trying to add my Facebook friends to my Waze account and they are not showing up.

This is my screen, and it never changes

I found in their forums that this is a common problem, but I'm yet to find a solution after trying every workaround that's recommended.

I disconnected and re-connected Waze to Facebook multiple times.
I removed the app from Facebook and re-authorized it when it asked me for permissions.
I signed out and removed all information from Facebook from my iPhone, and signed in again (*)
I tried downloading Waze on an iPad and link Facebook from there, but the issue is the same.
I search in their home page to login and associated from there, but it only shows you a dashboard with little data.

(*) This step is specifically recommended in their official support "wiki"

sorry I can't link directly, it's in an iFrame. You can go to https://www.waze.com/support/question and search for can't see facebook friends

I am willing to completely delete my account (with Waze) and start from scratch, but I assume I'd need to create a new Facebook profile as I cannot find where to completely wipe my association with Facebook (this I don't want to do)

If anyone has any other suggestions, or knows how to completely delete your account in Waze, or whatever steps you can think of, I'd love to hear them!

I had this exact same problem (I'm on an iPhone 5) and just fixed it. I connected Waze to my Facebook account - setting my privacy level at 'My Facebook Friends' - and then went into Settings > Facebook > 'Update Contacts.' That took a few seconds, but when I went back to Waze all my Facebook friends had magically appeared. Hope that helps.

I think we need to wait until friends on facebook make a movement with their waze.


Wirelessly play audio from an iPad to a Mac Is it possible to send audio from an iPad to a Mac to make use of speakers connected to Mac? Either Bluetooth or WiFi will work, it doesn't matter to me.

The problem is, it's much easier to play something on the iPad because of its excellent music apps infrastructure (for example, TuneIn). However the iPad speaker quality is poor, and I am searching for another way to listen to music from it.

The AirServer application may offer the functionality that you're looking for. According to this 2011 review, the app can:

  AirPlay is what lets you throw content from an iPad or iPhone
  wirelessly to speakers or your TV. To do this, you need to have an
  AirPort Express next to your speakers, or an Apple TV hooked up to
  your TV. Bluetooth speakers show up in the list, too. What you can’t
  do is beam movies from your iOS device direct to your big-screen iMac.

  AirServer is a $3 app that adds in this last piece of the puzzle. With
  it running on your Mac, a new entry will show up in the AirPlay
  popover of any iOS device on the same network, as you’d expect.

  Music just appears magically from your Mac’s speakers, or whatever
  speakers are hooked up to it. Movies open after a second in the
  Quicktime player, and it’s on-screen controls let you play, pause,
  scrub and change volume on the Mac itself.

According to the link on the AirServer website, the price for the current version (AirServer 4.0) is $14.99.

Another application with similar functionality is Banana TV. However, it doesn't support iOS 5, as this note on the app homepage states:

  Banana TV has moved to free. We will not be supporting iOS5, although
  the latest build DOES support Lion. You need an iPhone or iPad running
  greater than or equal to iOS 4.2 and less than iOS 5.0. We apologize,
  but keeping up with Apple's continual change of the undocumented,
  private AirPlay interfaces just isn't something we can continue!

Both applications allow for media to be played from an iOS device to a networked Mac.

EDIT: Add current price of AirServer application.

maybe you like this app/audiohost combination : http://midimux.com


Eclipse quit unexpectedly (Mac OS X 10.7.4 and Eclipse 3.8) I had an Eclipse environment all wrong, than I decided to install another (newer) version from scratch. After I "uninstalled" the older version, I downloaded the Eclipse for Java Developers 64-bit for OS X (version 3.8) from eclipse.org.

After I downloaded, I tried to open and the error Eclipse quit unexpectedly begun to haunt my programming fun! Does anyone have a solution for that problem?

These are the ones I've tried:

Clean the workspace.
Open via Terminal with -clean.
Download previous "working" version.
Downloaded other version.

RESULT: same problem = eclipse quit unexpectedly.

This is probably because eclipse shutdown abnormally.
Open the Terminal and go to the location where eclipse is installed.
Then run eclipse from the terminal like...
$./eclipse -clean

It should start, once it does go to the Eclipse menu and Quit eclipse.
If you have any shortcuts on the desktop you'll have to remove them and make new shortcuts with the executable.

Not sure what uncrompression program do you use, but please don't use "The Unarchiver" when you expand eclipse tar.gz file. There's a bug in "The Unarchiver" program on the mac that causes this issue to happen. see: https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=305758


Are DropBox files viewed on iOS devices taking up space on them? When travelling I will need all of the "space" I can claim on my iPad. Am I correct in thinking "space" is not being taken up on the iPad by DB folders, unless I have made them favorites?

Yes.  The files are cloud based until you favorite them.
Straight from DropBox:

How much can I store on my phone or tablet?
The Dropbox iPhone app can save as many files as your iPhone or iPod
Touch can hold or Dropbox space allows. If you find yourself running
out of space on your iPhone, removing files from your Favorites list
will clear up space on your device. If you're running out of Dropbox
space, you can delete files from your Dropbox, or you might want to
consider upgrading to a bigger Dropbox.

Actually it saves everything on your harddrive. I just came to realize I only had 2GB of free space on my iPad. I downloaded iFunbox on my PC and with it I discovered that pretty much every file I've ever downloaded had a copy in a Cache folder under the Dropbox app directory. A couple of those files had even more copies because I had opened them multiple times. I deleted every file on my dropbox cache and recovered 12GB of free space on my 32GB ipad.


Can applications be using mic/camera without permission? Normally when an application on iPhone or iPad needs to access the microphone or camera it should get permission from the user.

Considering applications for iOS distributed through AppStore,
if such an application never asked for permission, and isn't listed in the privacy tab in Settings, is it guaranteed that the application can't access the microphone or camera?

Unless it's a hacked system, then no, it will not have access since access is only possible via API's that require granting access.

In the event of a hack it's assumed that the system you mention has been overcome in some fashion. It's also assumed that the hackers find a way to turn the LED light off alongside the camera.

Notably, none of this has happened yet on a Mac. It's just that a handful of headlines were generated by people saying it's possible.


How to display favicon on my Safari Tab? I want to display favicon on my Safari Tab :

I am using Yosemite 10.10.
I've tried Glims, it doesn't seem to work with Yosemite.

I'm wondering if there are other way around to tweak this natively or with a third party tool.

This is not possible with current version of Safari 9 or 9.1.

If, like me, you do really want this feature, please use Apple Safari feedack form to send feedback to Apple.

They do listen to customer feedback, I can assure you, and when it comes to features like this, the number of requests is essential.

Just use Glims and install it in "lite" mode.


How do I view disk usage on my desktop computer icon? How do I get disk usage information on my 'Machintosh HD' icon on my desktop?

I did it on my old computer, so I know it's possible, but can't seem to find the option again.

I am on MacOSX 10.8.2.

Right-click a blank location (e.g. not on an icon) on your desktop and click 'Show View Options'.

Check the 'Show item info' box:

The effect happens immediately.

Command i will show you the info panel for any file or folder in finder


Is there way to crop the output of a camera for a video chat? I'd like to use Zoom, Google Meet, etc. with my built in camera, or an external webcam.
However, the camera is too wide and shows parts of my setup that I'd prefer it not to. Is it possible to crop the view, which is then automatically used by video conferencing software? (ideally set once and forget)

For those wondering, I noticed this initially when I saw that Photo Booth crops my webcam input (which is embarrassing if you use that to judge what is in view!).

Cameras either have or don't have these features.

Pan (side to side adjustment),
Tilt (crop & enlarge),
or Zoom (up & down adjustment)

This is shown as P/T/Z or PTZ on feature lists.
Apple's built in FaceTime camera has none of these sadly, you will have to look at the specs for any external camera you have to see if it does.
While there is some 3rd party apps that apply these after the fact, they do it by taking the video feed, adjusting it and pushing out a new virtual feed.
Since these will likely be suggested, be aware, these can be problematic. They can be buggy, they often ask for very deep control/access of your system, and some programs do not take virtual video input well. This is reflected in their universally poor ratings in the App Store. I have also found they are stubborn to uninstall and run insidiously in the background, so use at your own risk.


Sharing a Dropbox link directly to the clipboard, without having a browser pop open? Is there any solution for retrieving a Dropbox share link to a file, that doesn't involve opening a browser?

That puts it directly in the clipboard.

(For sake of clarity, I'm referring to when you right-click a file and select Dropbox → Share Link.)

No, you can't just get the link in clipboard, which is much safer for you. With Dropbox's version 2.0.5, you can easily share them through the toolbar.

There's a second way of doing it, being a lot better, which is:

Finder > Dropbox > public (move your public file here) > right click > dropbox > Copy public Link


Apple ID Password requirements As you know, the Apple ID Password must meet some minimum requirements, such as having at least one lower case letter, one capital letter, one number, etc.

So, how come sometimes I see a customer putting in a password just 4 characters long?

I am thinking probably if it is a very old password, never changed before, it can be still used as a valid Apple ID Password? Or what?

There are two types of passwords, the device passcode and the appleid password.

The device passcode gives you access to unlock the device, and it can be as short as a 4 digit PIN.

The AppleID password must be 9 (I think. It's either says "8" or "more than 8") or more characters long, contain at least one capital, one lowercase, and use at least one number or special character.

It's most likely the case that they have a very old Apple ID and haven't changed their passwords since creating their account. I don't know if Apple had lower password requirements in the early days of iTunes/Apple ID, right now they require 8 character passwords as a minimum it seems.


com.apple.hiservices-xpcservice results in frequent hangs and freezes in my mac Update (2019): The issue still persits even in macOS Mojave, tried everything I could find, nothing seems to solve the issue as of yet!
Problem:
com.apple.hiservices-xpcservice hangs repeatedly ever since I upgraded to macOS Mojave 10.14.1. Now,everytime the process hangs it is indicated by red colored fonts in the Activity Monitor. Due to the frequent hangs my system slows down and it's barely usable due to extremely slow performance.
What I have done so far:
I have already Googled it (The Process) and also contacted Apple regarding the usage of this process and the reason behind it's frequent hick-ups. Alas! they couldn't help much.
So, I terminated the process.
Temporary Solution:
As soon as I terminated the process (com.apple.hiservices-xpcservice) my mac started running fast once again.
But, whenever I restart the system or leave the mac idle for a few minutes and then if I start using it once again! out of no where, the process (com.apple.hiservices-xpcservice), shows up once again in the activity monitor resulting in slow performance issues along with hangs and freezes across macOS.
System Info:
Model
iMac (27-inch, Mid 2014)
Processor
3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz)
Configurable to 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz).
Memory
8GB (two 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory; four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible
Configurable to 16GB or 32GB.
Storage
1TB Fusion Drive
Screenshot Of The Process com.apple.hiservices-xpcservice

Had the problem too.

Tried to disable SIP, then remove execution rights on com.apple.hiservices-xpcservice, reboot after re-enabling SIP.

Result : Safari keeps crashing, each time it opens so it seems to be linked to apple apps.

Giving back execution rights on the service repaired Safari ..

Except killing it when it becomes unresponsive, I don't see any other solution

I didn't try to disable this com.apple.hiservices, I just skipped from my computer.
Problem solved. It didn't come back. However, there are some minor differences in some sites, nothing to be worried about.


Cisco AnyConnect causes OS X to kernel panic My Macbook Pro 15" (Early 2011 - the one with Thunderbolt port) constantly kernel panics whenever Cisco AnyConnect establishes connection.

The panic tends to happen in the first ~30 seconds after connection is established.

The crash log is available here:
https://gist.github.com/d947e73b0b6c17a863b7

Any thoughts?

Some details:
Macbook Pro 15" i7 Early 2011 (the one with Thunderbolt)
Cisco AnyConnect version 2.5.2019

PS. I asked this question on the Apple Support forum, but so far I have got no answer :(

EDIT: This problem originally occurs in Snow Leopard, but problem persists in Lion (10.7), even after a fresh install (not upgrade from 10.6)

I've experienced the same issue on an iMac running OSX Lion (10.7.3). I submitted a bug report to Apple and tweeted at @anyconnect. You will need to work with Cisco support or use another version of the app unless we can narrow down the specific setting that is causing this crash.

I found a solution for this issue, and wrote about it here :

http://technie.net/kernel-panic-on-macbooks-20102011-with-cisco-anyconnect/

There's a bug in Cisco AnyConnect, but following the guide on the link, it will be able to work.

On Macbook Pro 15″ and 17″ (Late 2010, Early 2011 – the one with Thunderbolt port) sometimes kernel panics whenever Cisco AnyConnect establishes connection.

Usually the Panic comes approx 30 seconds after a connection is established.

I found out that the following solves this issue :

If your macbook kernel panics, reboot it.

– close all apps

– shutdown macbook from menu.

– Make sure the powercord is in

– Reset the SMC by pressing Shift+Crtrl+Alt + Power button for at least 5 seconds

– Startup the macbook

– Connect using AnyConnect.

This has worked for me so far. It’s not optimal, Cisco should definately fix their client, but this is a way to at least be able to connect.


iPod Classic can't be seen by iTunes 12.7 on Windows 10 I have a used iPod Classic 5th Generation (A1136) that was purchased for a parent as it is compatible with all their 40-pin gear. One of the parents already has an identical model which was "working fine" (although hadn't been synced for over a year). By this I understand that syncing has worked on their family PC (running Windows 10) in the past, but updates may have been run / fiddling may have taken place since the last successful sync.

However, I plugged in this newly purchased iPod to the family PC (via USB) and strange things began to happen. The iPod appeared to connect, then disconnect and reconnect again in a loop until eventually Windows gave up and said the device had malfunctioned. iTunes doesn't detect the device at all, but once the connect/reconnect loop gives up the iPod appears as a mass storage device - but iTunes continues to ignore it.

Things I have tried

different computer - tried it on another Windows 10 machine with an identical version of iTunes (12.7.4.76) - works flawlessly (with the same sync cable)
different USB port on the same computer - all behave identically
uninstall iTunes, reboot, reinstall iTunes, reboot - same behaviour
reinstall Apple Mobile Device Support driver (usbaapl64.inf) - same behaviour

Honestly, I'm tearing my hair out. Short of a clean Windows 10 install I don't know what else to do. Any ideas?

I spoke with Apple Support. The iPod Classic is no longer supported by the software, period. Backwards compatibility is not considered and old versions of iTunes are not provided by Apple. In fact, the support personnel are forbidden to provide an older version. They suggest buying a new iPod.

ALL iPods still work on any version of iTunes.  Even the Original 5GB 1st Gen works.  They even work on Catalina in the Music app


Recover playlists from iTunes iOS device backup iPod associated with an install of iTunes on a Windows PC; the Windows PC died, and the iTunes library was lost.  Most of the library has been recovered to a new install of iTunes on a new Windows PC by following the directions in this answer, but the process removed all playlists from the iPod.

I'm assuming the playlists were included in the backup made in the first step of those directions, but I can't find any tool for extracting them.  I can find plenty of programs that can copy playlists from an iPod (might have been useful at the beginning, but not now), and plenty of programs that can extract anything but a playlist from an iTunes device backup, but I have not been able to find a program that can recover playlists from an iTunes device backup.

How can I recover the playlists from an iTunes backup of an iOS device on Windows?

I'm fairly sure that the playlists are considered data synced from iTunes, and therefore aren't included in a backup.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204136

I just took a look through a few backups just to make sure, and I didn't see the playlist data anywhere.

There is a program called 'iBackup Bot' that lets you edit iOS backups. You can download it for Windows here. After installing it, you should be able to look through the backup like you were using File Explorer and try to find some sort of iTunes storage folder. You can then drag and drop it onto your desktop or something.


Is it possible to copy text from image? Is there any tools to copy text from video's or images?

You can upload the image to Google Drive and it will use OCR to get the text from it. Or you can use a specialized software like Abby Fine reader for more advanced work.

The quality of the text recognition will vary with image quality. I would use a screenshot to get texts from video.

In Google Drive, you need to set Upload settings below the cogwheel on the right top to „Convert text from uploaded PDF and images files“.  He will copy the recognized text in the document below the image.

You can use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for the job


How do I save iCloud photos to external hard drive? Photos on my iPad are backed up on iCloud, but as my iCloud storage is full I want to back up my iCloud photos to an external hard drive. How do I do this on my Windows desktop PC? I do not have a Mac.

Sign in to https://www.icloud.com and download/ export your photos from the web app.

I use an app called Photos to Disk http://www.photos-to-disk.com/

It's really easy to use and it has automatic folder organization options


What is the difference between `brew` and `brew cask`? So, what is the difference between brew and brew cask?

I know that homebrew is a package management software. But what kind of software can I get there? Is it open source software and commercial software?

Homebrew

brew is the core command for the Homebrew project.

  The missing package manager for OS X

  Homebrew installs the stuff you need that Apple didn’t.

Homebrew typically deals with command line software. Most of the software is distributed under an open source licence. See the Formulas for a list of available installs.

brew prefers pre-compiled binaries but will compile from source in some cases.

Cask

brew cask is an extension to brew that allows management of graphical applications through the Cask project.

  Homebrew Cask extends Homebrew and brings its elegance, simplicity,
  and speed to OS X applications and large binaries alike.

Cask deals with a mixture of software and licences. The software I work on is covered by a commercial licence and available via cask.

Cask offers a way to command line manage the installation of graphical applications.

See brew cask issue #7002 about the project's focus on predictability and how that affects the use of pre-compiled binaries or source.

Licensing

Availability through brew or cask does not imply any specific licence.

brew cask install foo appears to be a shortcut for brew install caskroom/cask/foo:

ct@MBA45:~$ brew tap
caskroom/cask
homebrew/core
homebrew/php
ct@MBA45:~$ brew install meld
Error: No available formula with the name "meld"
It was migrated from homebrew/core to caskroom/cask.
You can access it again by running:
  brew tap caskroom/cask
ct@MBA45:~$ brew tap caskroom/cask
ct@MBA45:~$ brew install meld
Error: No available formula with the name "meld"
It was migrated from homebrew/core to caskroom/cask.
You can access it again by running:
  brew tap caskroom/cask
ct@MBA45:~$ brew install caskroom/cask/meld
==> brew cask install caskroom/cask/meld
==> Satisfying dependencies
==> Downloading https://github.com/yousseb/meld/releases/download/osx-9/meldmerge.dmg
######################################################################## 100,0%
==> Verifying checksum for Cask meld
==> Installing Cask meld
==> Moving App 'Meld.app' to '/Applications/Meld.app'.
==> Linking Binary 'Meld' to '/usr/local/bin/meld'.
  meld was successfully installed!
ct@MBA45:~$ brew cask install meld
Warning: Cask 'meld' is already installed.

To re-install meld, run:
  brew cask reinstall meld

Cask is the part of brew for GUI apps.


Using Shazam to pick up audio over internal soundcard / headphones I recently discovered Shazam has an app for mac, it seems it works by listening on the built in mic (or any mic presumably).

I wondered if there was a way I could get it to listen to the soundcard instead? I typically listen to radio streams over VLC, through headphones and thought it would be awesome to be able to use Shazam for those unknown tunes.

I found out about the Audio MIDI Setup.app which you can create aggregate devices, I thought maybe I could somehow forward the output into the mic- but I don't really understand it exactly truth be told.

Is there a way I could get this to work?

You can do this like so:

Install Soundflower (from https://rogueamoeba.com/freebies/soundflower/)
Option-click the volume icon and change both the input and the output device to "Soundflower (2ch)"
Start the Soundflowerbed application that comes with Soundflower, then click its icon in the top right (of a flower) and choose "Built-in Output" from the list under "Soundflower (2ch)"

Now your system audio output (e.g. VLC) is going out on the Soundflower virtual audio cable and your system input (e.g. Shazam) is coming from the Soundflower virtual audio cable, so Shazam can listen to whatever you play on the Mac, but Soundflowerbed lets you also route that virtual audio cable out through the system audio output so you can hear it all the time!

This could have a slightly negative effect on CPU usage and latency, so you might not want to use this set up all the time if you aren't using Shazam - in this case, you just Option-click the volume icon and set the output (and input if required) back to "Built-in". It's really cool to have Shazam IDing tracks as you listen to a DJ mix/radio station, and it's (sometimes) impressively accurate!

No, no ,no.

THE EASIEST WAY YOU DO IT - IS THROUGH WINDOWS SOUND settings (go to them and select RECORDING, then STEREO MIX and enable it and then right click it (stereo mix) and click LISTEN and then Listen to this device (aditionally select what device is playing the audio).

Then hit OK and shazam will work (you may have to dissable all other microphones or just set stero mix to default).

You just usually need some soundcard for this (Asus works good) - but in asus drivers you should alway disable FX and GX and use Classic as effect. Also to generally improve quality on soundcards - just dissable unused playback devices / recording devices (use only those that you use).


After upgrading Snow Leopard to Lion, can I reinstall the original Snow Leopard to a virtual machine? If I upgrade my Snow Leopard to Lion, is it technically and legally possible to reinstall the original Snow Leopard into a virtual machine, which is inside the same, original, Apple-branded iMac?

From the Snow Leopard software license agreement §2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions:

  A. Single Use License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, unless you have purchased a Family Pack or Upgrade license for the Apple Software, you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.

It would seem to me* that there's nothing wrong: the working operating system is Lion (not Snow Leopard), so I would enable only one copy of Snow Leopard to run. The virtualization software is running under Apple-branded computer. Right?

Is it technically possible?

*) iANAL

Yes - it is technically possible.

The Leopard and Snow Leopard installers look for a file (even if it's empty) named /System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist

Armed with this, you should be able to search for many "how-to" articles like this.

Be aware, the comments on the page call out issues that this "hack" causes when running the OS (software updates is confused by this file's presence/absence)

Legal and moral issues aside. (I'm not a lawyer but I too fail to see how the license prevents you from virtualizing your legally purchased Snow Leopard on a legally purchased Mid 2011 MacBook Air)

Think of this as an iOS jailbreak - someone has to stay on top of the things that these changes break, but the payoff may be well worth the hassle.

According to §3 Transfer, if you've upgraded you're not permitted to continue using the older release:

  If an Apple Software update completely replaces (full install) a previously licensed version of the Apple Software, you may not use both versions of the
  Apple Software at the same time nor may you transfer them separately.


How to download WhatsApp iCloud backup? I read the thread Accessing WhatsApp iCloud backup?
and did all Kanthala Raghu explained to reveal icloud whatsapp backup in terminal. But what I get is only a list in terminal after typing cd ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/find whatsapp. Like these:
57TXXXXX~net~whatsapp~WhatsApp
57TXXXXXX~net~whatsapp~WhatsApp/Documents
But how do I download them to my mac ? Now I can only see they exist on the terminal console...thanks for your help

The files are already downloaded to your Mac. The folder you're searching is on your local Mac.
As explained in the answer you've linked, the backups are stored as tar archives (tar being a program that can bundle multiple files in one archive file). You can do as they instruct:
cp *whatsapp*/Accounts/*/backup/*.tar ~/AFolderIChoose

Create the "AFolderIChoose" folder in your home directory before running the command. You should then see that folder populated with the backup archives. You can double them in Finder to unpack them.

Another way is restore the backup directly on iphone.


MacBook Pro Retina (13-inch, 2015) keyboard and trackpad unresponsive As in the title. I can only work with mouse and keyboard via USB/BT. Built-in keyboard and trackpad are unresponsive during the boot, login screen nor in OS. Tried: SMC, PRAM reset, safe boot, 3rd party service.

Surprisingly that tricked worked 2 times in a row: Remove Existing Wi-Fi Preferences in macOS Sierra

I have no clue - nothing was spilled onto it, it just stopped working and becomes responsive very rarely (apart from the trick described above). I want to avoid keyboard/trackpad/board replacement.

It seems the trackpad cable is a potential cause, due to it rubbing on the back cover as demonstrated in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPFCIE0U1ew&t=26s


How do I delete unlinked folders from iCloud.com How can I remove unlinked folders, such as  "Readdle Documents" in iCloud Drive, left behind after uninstalling the app?

On new iOS, you can use the files app to navigate and delete these files.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206481

Before that app shipped, there wasn't a file browser on iOS and Apple didn't expose that functionality to users.

There is a file browser on OS X, but the "truth" for App Folders is currently stored in iCloud, so you can't delete a folder on OS X and have it stay deleted. The bird daemon will re-download the folder from the cloud if you try. The developer that created those folders will have to implement a clean up routine (similar to how 1Password allows you to instruct the app to delete iCloud data and the program itself removes the data).

If you created the folder or document from OS X, then you can drag that folder to your desktop (or elsewhere) and you'll be notified of the pending
deletion from iCloud.

Pay attention to the kind column to determine if you need the App to delete things or if you are trying to delete a normal file or folder. For more information you can use the command brctl log --wait to see status, minor errors and warnings of the iCloud folder and file syncing from OS X using terminal.app.

After abortive attempts to upload my iCloud Photos Library (iCPL) and then wiping it again in various ways, there were left behind "All Events" folders, originating from the old iPhoto Events folder.  Once the original copy on the computer was lost, it was not possible to remove the iCloud.com version.  They were "orphaned".  My question to Ask Different was about how to remove the orphaned folders. I got no answers or suggestions...

I made many attempts to delete the library from iCloud and start afresh. Apple assisted in this, but thought that I must have something wrong with my library.  I had had to use iPhoto Library Manager to rebuild it, before I could get it to upload at all, because it contained a folder with 1.6Gb of iPod thumbs.

I  had uploaded the library maybe twenty times and had exceeded my ISP quota for the month, which cost a lot of money.

Then Apple deleted the library using the Preferences iCloud option, which I had done myself several times already. But since, this time, the Undo Delete also stopped working, I had to wait nearly thirty days, before they finally reset iCloud.com>Photos back to the splash screen.

After installing a diagnostic profiler for Photos, I created a new empty library and re-enabled iCPL. Immediately the rogue All Events folder, containing 1266 images, reappeared in iCloud.com>Photos.  Maybe this convinced Apple that it was not being inadvertently uploaded from my computer.

So, after three months of investigation and liaison with Engineering in Cupertino, Dallas and Dublin, and uploading numerous diagnostic reports, I now note that on the 12th May 2015, this problem has finally been solved by Apple themselves.  Various posts on the Apple Support Forum (ASC) confirm this. e.g.: Apple Support Community

On logging into iCloud.com in Safari, the iCloud Photos Library (iCPL) was reloaded from a new splash screen, in my iCloud.com>Photos and is now being kept in sync with the library on my computer and iPhone.

iCloud.com>Photos

icloud.com>photos Before

Multiple Legacy All Events folders

Unresponsive Recently Deleted folder

Unable to Undo Delete

Complete set of obsolete images in one All Events folder

Final corrected version

Readdle...

There was also an orphan Readdle Documents folder in iCloud.com>iCloud Drive, after uninstalling the app.

This Readdle Documents folder has been removed from Cloud.com.icloud>iCloud  Drive, but remains as a hidden file in iCloud drive on my computer.

I now have an email from the developers at Readdle, saying that:

"It is technically impossible from our side to delete the folder. Only Apple manages this process. I recommend you to try signing out from your iCloud account on your Mac and re-add it. It may solve the issue."

I am reluctant to take any action at present.

Edit:  I finally got round to logging out of iCloud and back in again.  It has removed the Readdle Documents folder from iCloud Drive on the computer.

PS.  The hidden folder appeared right back on to the computer, after a day or so...

Legacy Readdle Documents Folder

Readdle folder removed from iCloud.com>iCloud Drive

Readdle folder still on computer, but hidden


MySQL service doesn't start in Catalina OSX Installed MySQL 8.0.18 from a dmg file downloaded from the official site. The service won't start when manually started from the new Preferences icon added by the installer. Running sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server start dies with this error message:

  Starting MySQL .. ERROR! The server quit without updating PID file

I tried setting file and dir ownership of /usr/local/mysql/ to the _mysql user, and giving write permissions to /usr/local/mysql/data/ as per other answers suggested but that didn't fix the issue.

Edit: Forgot to make clear this is on macOS Catalina, I think this is highly relevant as this version brought revised security policies setting how/if each app can write to disk.

After hours investigating I found this post from Michael Fraase: https://discourse.brew.sh/t/mysql-8-0-18-on-catalina-wont-run-as-service/6015/2

I just added:

[mysqld]
user=root

to /etc/my.cnf (or where you have your .cnf file) and it solved it (I can not believe it).

For mac OS Catalina :

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql -uroot -p

This will prompt you to enter password of mysql


Getting notified when my iPhone is found at a different email address? If my iPhone gets stolen and I try to use Find my iPhone while it's off, I am given the option to be notified by email when my iPhone is found.

I believe this sends an email to my iCloud account.

I see 2 problems with this:

Since my iCloud address was automatically set up to receive email on my iPhone, the person who currently has possession of the phone will also be notified when my phone was located. They could then take measures in order to make it harder to find the phone. Ideally they wouldn't get a notification message when my phone is found.
My iPhone was the only place that I used to get my iCloud messages. Right now I would need to manually login to iCloud.com and check the email every so often to see if it's been located. I realize that I could use an application such as Apple's Mail app to check this account automatically, but I am not using Mail right now. I'm using Gmail instead, and would prefer to get the message at my Gmail address.

Is there any way to send the email to a different address and/or bypass these 2 issues after the phone is stolen?

You can setup your gmail account as default iCloud account.

To do this :

Go to settings
Mail Contacts, Calenders option
Add new Email Account
Choose iCloud Account
Choose Get a Free Apple ID
When it asks for Email provide your Gmail Address
It will then pair your email with iCloud account so that you can use it as primary iCloud account
Once setup is done go to iCloud in Settings and change the account from iCloud me address to your newly setup Gmail iCloud Account

Hope it helps :)

You can go to your email's settings and forward all your emails to a different email address.

Elaborating on this further, you can set up your existing email to forward your emails to another email address which is not synced to your phone.

You can set up the forwarding from any browser & the thief will not have access to the account.


Developing iOS apps on Windows 7 Please read my question fully, I searched many questions but that doesn't answer my question fully. We are planning to develop an iOS app using PhoneGap, so we have also purchased $99 Developer license for it. So far we are good, but as per my research I found that we cannot build iOS app on windows, we compulsory need mac for it.

My question, is it necessary to use mac even if we don't have intend to submit to app store currently? Just we need to test our app on iPad so that once we have bug free application we can purchase mac and build release version out of it before we submit to app store.

Is this possible? Since we are a Java shop and this is our first project for iOS, please excuse me if I am asking something obvious.

So the bad news is that XCode is needed for its iOS Simulator as well as its Application Loader facility for actually uploading the programs to iOS devices for "real" testing. You'll need XCode for signing your apps before submitting to the App Store. Unfortunately, XCode is only available for OS X.

However, the good news is that you may be able to purchase OS X and run it in a virtual machine such as VMWare Workstation. I don't know how straightforward this is, as it is rather difficult to get OS X to run on non-Apple hardware, but a quick Google search shows that it is possible. This method would (likely) be cheaper than purchasing a new Mac, although the Mac Mini retails in the US for only $599. Some posts I've seen indicate that this may or may not be legal, others say you need OS X Server for virtualization. I'll leave the research up to you.

There are also services such as MacInCloud that allow you to rent a Mac server that you can access from Windows via remote desktop, or through your browser. Unfortunately, I don't think you'd be able to use Application Loader, as you have to physically connect the device to your computer, but it would work for development and simulation, at least.

Good luck!

You can use Smartface for iOS development on Windows; in any of the development step it does not require any Mac or Objective-C knowledge.
Only at when submitting to AppStore Mac and Developer program subscription is required.


Any way to be sure, that Macs don't come with built-in hardware keyloggers? What the title says. If this is the case, even if you choose to delete everything OS X related and put entirely Linux in your box; you'd still be screwed. Hardware keyloggers sit between the keyboard and the motherboard, and record everything typed to memory (perhaps to be siphoned off to a remote server without your knowledge the first time the machine gets online) Also, macs are famously sealed-off black boxes that how it works under the hood is kept an intentional mystery by Apple.

Well, your thoughts, fellow mac-folk?

Any system can contain embedded an hardware keylogger or trapdoor. Most of them do contain the last one. But a keylogger isn't as easy a task to integrate in a completly undetectable way. A keylogger will have to log.
Here is the weak point where you will be able to detect it.
Whichever is the way to log a keylogger will use, you will see something grow inside (hidden disk space, hidden memory space) or escape one way or another (network, light, radio-wave, sound, infrared).

When I look back at the way some bug in serious software aren't fixed, I can be nearly certain that a keylogger won't stay undetected for long.

A keylogger will talk and bug.

Taking into account the risk involved for any company trying to make such an evil minded choice, and a dangerous one (the keylogger once discovered will also be used by the enemies)
I doubt any risk aware company will take this risk.

From my point of view, this is clearly a vital and an unacceptable risk.

they would need to have some memory to store the keylogged data.. this is extremely unlikely.. but i guess there is no way to be 100% sure if you are 100% paranoid. I wouldn't let it bother you though.

cheers

Paul


IOS: How to “unsnap” a slide over app It’s easy to put app to the side in iOS 11, but how to un-pin it back? It always opens in this mini view.

I have an older iPad and I cant swipe down to put sideloaded app on the main screen. The only solution I could find is to sideload another app, but what if I don’t want anything there?

Just to reiterate - I want this app to be the main one. If I launch it from the Dock it opens in a slide-over state.

The OP is talking about an old iPad so mentioning “split screen” will not be available. Something like the mini 2 which is what I have and I have the same issue.

Start Safari as normal so this is the main app.
Start Notes by dragging it from the dock and onto the right of the screen so this becomes the Overlay.
Swipe Notes right and then have a full screen Safari.
Swipe from the right to bring back Notes in overlay

Great but now I want Notes as my full screen app

If I swipe Notes off to the side it just hides it. It does not remove it the Overlay mode so if I now swipe up to get the dock and select Notes it comes out as an Overlay, not as a full screen app.

Various solutions I found are:

As OP said you add a different app as an Overlay. But I do not want another app in Overlay

Or

Go to Home screen so no apps in view and then start Notes and it’s full screen but it secretly knows it is an Overlay so workflow is.

In Notes full screen
Dock to select Safari so get Safari in full screen as any other app would do
Dock to select Mail and glorious full screen Mail appears
Home button so no apps in view
Select Notes from Dock to get Notes in full screen

You have to do this extra step of going to the Home Screen for Notes (the was used in Overlay mode and ios11 is stubbornly not letting go) because if an another app is full screen then Notes will come back as Overlay. For clarity any other apps you could switch to using the Dock would be full screen so yuck for this

Or (homing in)

Annoyingly you have to have started Notes once in full screen mode to use this slight improvement as you bizarrely need that step to get the Overlay app to appear in the multi-tasking view so follow above to get that.

Use can then use the multitask control panel.
Swipe up to middle of screen and switch to Notes using this makes Notes full screen and as long as you switch via this back to Notes it is always full screen.
So any other app you can switch anyway you want but always use the control panel to switch to Notes. Probably the most doable solution until you get an app to replace Notes in Overlay.

But one more I found

Kill Notes and start from Home Screen

swipe up to middle of screen to get the multi-tasking panel.
swipe up on Notes to kill it. As before for Notes to appear you needed to do the start Notes with no other app in view at least once.
Now crucially go to Home Screen so no app on view
Start Notes and it will be full screen
You can now switch as if it was never an Overlay

If you do the above but having killed Notes then go back to an app (Safari) and select Notes from the Dock then not only does it stubbornly start in Overlay mode but it also again does not appear as an app in the multi-tasking view.

I would like a list of apps in Overlay so I can switch between them. A clever version of the list we used to have and then swiping an app out of that list could be used to remove from a Overlay. At the very least it seems a bit of a bug that an Overlay app doesn’t appear in the multi-tasking panel until you started as view screen using hack above.

only one app can be in slide over mode at once, so find some other app that you don't need and make it the slide over app


How to download Bootcamp drivers without Bootcamp assistant? I'm setting up my MacBook Air for a Windows-only boot setup.
This was easy enough. It already had rEFIt on it, I just connected a Windows 7 boot thumb drive, and away I went.

However, it seems Apple does not let you download Bootcamp drivers outside of their assistant tool. Reinstalling OS X just for the drivers is ridiculous.

This laptop no longer has OS X on it at all. How do I get the required drivers? I cannot find them anywhere on Apple's support pages.

Every other manufacturer has their drivers available for download.

How do I download the Windows drivers for my 2010 MacBook Air without the BootCamp Assistant?

Yes, It is possible to download the Bootcamp drivers outside of the Bootcamp tool:

Updated:

timothy-sutton's answer will make your life so much easier, go there first
For Windows 7 through 10, Apple have published a table of 'which download you need for which model' at https://support.apple.com/kb/HT5634. Win 7 download might work for Vista.
For WinXP, see robmathers' answer.
The hard way which follows here, taken from
http://www.cafe-encounter.net/p682/download-bootcamp-drivers is your fallback if you want or need to work it from scratch.

Download from Apple the http://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog file. Don’t double-click it.
Open the index-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog file in a text editor or word processor.
Search for each occurrence — as at August 2012 there were 6 — of BootCampESD.pkg. For instance, the one I needed is http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/33/54/041-2011/pRtCDYcWShMLxFggy3TzFzmfnnWQNFQBfJ/BootCampESD.pkg
Notice in each such URL, the /041-2011/ or similar /041-XXXXX/ bit of it.
Below each such occurrence, notice the URL for a file with the same 041-XXXXX in it and ending in English.dist, e.g. 041-2011.English.dist
Paste the URL for each such English.dist file into your browser and open that url. Here’s a list of them:

http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/11/05/041-0925/g27es04pw9re5ggrfp3vuf8ew6r53asfz8/041-0925.English.dist
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/53/34/041-4776/TpFRDjFyRJjSvtyj2vFsPyx2bH2NSYvwN9/041-4776.English.dist
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/55/51/041-3891/se4uhpqng48t842cdsosqh28lft54fmswl/041-3891.English.dist
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/32/15/041-4775/hgMfrNHd9W8W7d8n4JyqSFLksk5TYr2HXN/041-4775.English.dist
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/32/33/041-2303/W5jKtsQhhMgMXs3TKhPDqLXrpXyY2HdXMN/041-2303.English.dist
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/33/54/041-2011/pRtCDYcWShMLxFggy3TzFzmfnnWQNFQBfJ/041-2011.English.dist

Search for the Model Identifier for your Mac. For instance MacBookPro5,2 or Macmini4,1.

For instance the 041-2011 file contains these models: MacBook2,1 MacBook3,1 MacBook4,1 MacBook5,1 MacBook5,2 MacBook5,3 MacBook6,1 MacBook7,1 MacBookAir1,1 MacBookAir2,1 MacBookAir3,1 MacBookAir3,2 MacBookPro2,1 MacBookPro2,2 MacBookPro3,1 MacBookPro4,1 MacBookPro5,1 MacBookPro5,2 MacBookPro5,3 MacBookPro5,4 MacBookPro5,5 MacBookPro6,1 MacBookPro6,2 MacBookPro7,1 MacBookPro8,1 MacBookPro8,2 MacBookPro8,3 MacPro1,1 MacPro2,1 MacPro3,1 MacPro4,1 MacPro5,1 Macmini2,1 Macmini3,1 Macmini4,1 iMac5,1 iMac6,1 iMac7,1 iMac8,1 iMac9,1 iMac10,1 iMac11,1 iMac11,2 iMac11,3 iMac12,1 iMac12,2
How do you know your Model Identifier? Open System Information, and look in the Hardware Overview section. i.e. click Apple menu -> About this Mac -> More Info… -> Report -> Hardware -> and now read down the Hardware Overview looking for “Model Identifier:”

Having found your 041-XXXXX number, download the BootCampESD.pkg url that has your number in it. Again, here’s a list of them:

http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/55/51/041-3891/se4uhpqng48t842cdsosqh28lft54fmswl/BootCampESD.pkg
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/32/15/041-4775/hgMfrNHd9W8W7d8n4JyqSFLksk5TYr2HXN/BootCampESD.pkg
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/32/33/041-2303/W5jKtsQhhMgMXs3TKhPDqLXrpXyY2HdXMN/BootCampESD.pkg
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/33/54/041-2011/pRtCDYcWShMLxFggy3TzFzmfnnWQNFQBfJ/BootCampESD.pkg
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/53/34/041-4776/TpFRDjFyRJjSvtyj2vFsPyx2bH2NSYvwN9/BootCampESD.pkg
http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/11/05/041-0925/g27es04pw9re5ggrfp3vuf8ew6r53asfz8/BootCampESD.pkg

Be patient as it’s probably 600MB.
Once your pkg is downloaded, double click it and install to a folder on your hard drive so you know where to find it.
The folder contains a nest of folders, the last of which contains a dmg disk image file. Double click to open. Voila. Here are your Windows installer files.
Copy them to a USB drive, or a burnable CD. It’s still 660MB or more, so it’s a full CD worth of burning time.
Done. You can now proceed with Boot Camp assistant Windows installation.

source: http://www.cafe-encounter.net/p824/bootcamp-drivers-direct-download-of-bootcampesd-pkg . The page was aimed at people struggling with BootCamp, but either way, it gets you to the BootCamp.pkg file, which contains the drivers.

You still need open the OS X installer pkg file to get the the contents out, and to open a DMG file. If you are already in Windows, 7-zip will open it: http://www.cafe-encounter.net/p860/opening-a-bootcamp-driver-download-on-windows-7-or-8-with-7-zip

A link to a reference table of which download is intended for which Mac is provided in the first paragraph of each download page.


Can I cmd-F and click a highlighted link in Safari (or something similar) without a mouse? I'm trying to make my Mac as mouseless and possible. My three last big hurdles:

Moving the current window to a different space in Spaces. (I'm still on OS 10.6, until 10.8 comes out.)
A more efficient way to move through toolbars and menu bar than Tab.

And

When using Safari, being able to Cmd-F ("find") linked text and then click it. (Or some better way to move through in-page links I've not thought of.)

According to https://superuser.com/questions/233246/move-windows-between-spaces-in-mac-os-x-using-only-the-keyboard there is no keyboard shortcut for moving a window to a different space.


Replaced /usr/bin/vim - now I get error messages I tried to upgrade from the default vim install on Mac OS X (vim 7.2) to the one used by MacVim (vim 7.3) by creating a symlink:

ln -s /Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim /usr/bin/vim

However, now I get the following error messages:

sk@supernova:~/ > /usr/bin/vim
E254: Cannot allocate color Red
E254: Cannot allocate color White
E254: Cannot allocate color Blue
E254: Cannot allocate color Red
E254: Cannot allocate color Grey
E254: Cannot allocate color Blue
E254: Cannot allocate color Brown
E254: Cannot allocate color SeaGreen
E254: Cannot allocate color SeaGreen
E254: Cannot allocate color Yellow
E254: Cannot allocate color Red
E254: Cannot allocate color Blue
E254: Cannot allocate color Magenta
E254: Cannot allocate color DarkCyan
E254: Cannot allocate color LightMagenta
E254: Cannot allocate color Grey
E254: Cannot allocate color Blue
E254: Cannot allocate color Magenta
E254: Cannot allocate color Red
E254: Cannot allocate color Yellow
E254: Cannot allocate color Black
E254: Cannot allocate color LightGrey
E254: Cannot allocate color DarkBlue
E254: Cannot allocate color Grey
E254: Cannot allocate color DarkBlue
E254: Cannot allocate color Grey
E254: Cannot allocate color DarkBlue
E254: Cannot allocate color LightGrey
E254: Cannot allocate color LightBlue
E254: Cannot allocate color LightMagenta
E254: Cannot allocate color Blue
E254: Cannot allocate color LightCyan
E254: Cannot allocate color LightGrey
E254: Cannot allocate color Grey90
E254: Cannot allocate color Grey90
E254: Cannot allocate color LightRed
E254: Cannot allocate color DarkGrey
E254: Cannot allocate color LightGrey
E254: Cannot allocate color Cyan
Error detected while processing /Users/sk/.vimrc:
line    1:
E185: Cannot find color scheme desert
Press ENTER or type command to continue

Anyone knows how to fix this? If I run just vim or /Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim directly I don't get the error messages. Only if /usr/local/bin/vim gets called. Either directly or via another command line application.

Just if someone comments that I could have simply created an alias, I actually did that before

alias vim=/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/vim

however, some other command line tools were still using /usr/bin/vim.

This is a known issue. From :help MacVim:

Note: Starting MacVim by creating a symlink to >
    .../MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim with 'ln -s' does not work.

I found a lot of people getting a string of E254 errors from using a symlink. See this ticket on the MacVim issue repository. The solution follows:

    Most likely this is because you have symlinked directly to
    the Vim binary, which Cocoa does not allow.  Please use an
    alias or the mvim shell script instead.

MacVim comes with a startup shell script, mvim. You can alias it to vim if you'd prefer to use it instead of the system vim. If you want to start vim in the terminal rather than as a gui application, set the alias to mvim -v. Add export EDITOR=vim to your ~/.bash_profile to make sure that any terminal applications are using the now-aliased vim. This should cover all your bases.

brew install vim

sudo ln -s /usr/local/Cellar/vim/<VIM_VERSION>/bin/vim /usr/bin/vim

By the way, if OS is EI Capitan , you have to disable SIP as blow:

How do I disable SIP


Finding an SSD that's compatible with a late 2007 MacBook? I'm planning on upgrading my 120GB HDD to a 128GB SSD but I'm not sure which SSD will be compatible with my MacBook.

My specs: MacBook late 2007 / Santa Rosa 2.2GHz / 4GB RAM

Preferably, I'd like to get the fastest SSD that would be compatible for my MacBook but the SATA versions have been updated three times since this MacBook was released I'm not sure which would be the best.

I upgraded a similar era Macbook a while ago.  In all likelihood you are unlikely to be able to buy an SSD that will not max out the BUS speed available to it on a machine that old.

That particular Macbook has a SATA I (1.5Gbps) interface for it's existing hard drive.  SATA III (6Gbps) SSD drives have been the standard for many years now, although you may be able to get a bargain bucket SATA II device (3Gbps).  Basically, I would get the cheapest SSD you can for the capacity you require that is at least SATA II (you don't need it for the speed, but a SATA I one will be based on older technology that may have a shorter lifespan than a newer drive).  It is almost certain to be faster than your machine can handle, so there is no point getting a particularly recent or fast one.

OWC Mercury Electra 6G 120GB is a good choice especially for MBP. As this happens to be sandforce based, you can be assured of great reliability. I am very happy with the performance in my MBP


Can I use Time Machine to back up data to a Windows shared drive? How can I do "Time Machine" from my Mac OS X 10.6.4 to my Window share drive? I'd also prefer to encrypt my image, so it's "safe" just in case :-)

In order to create a Time Machine backup to an unsupported drive (pretty much anything that's not formatted HFS+) you need to run the following Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1

Your share will now show up as a valid Time Machine destination in the Time Machine Preference Pane.

Time Machine will then create a disk image on that drive that will act just like a HFS+ drive for Time Machines purposes (hard linking, etc.). One advantage of using a disk image over using the entire drive is that you can limit the size it will grow to of the disk image using Disk Utility.

Be sure to check Louis Gerbarg's answer as well for why it's unsupported and you have to jump through a hoop to enable it.

Unfortunately, I don't believe you can. From the Time Machine help docs:

Time Machine can’t back up to an external disk connected to an AirPort Extreme, or to an iPod, iDisk, or disk formatted for Windows.

EDIT: Ignore this answer. As mentioned in comments, Apple's own documentation is out of date.


Setting bash script to be automatically started When my Mac starts I want to automatically start a batch script called run.sh in the folder myfolder. When I start Automater I only find options for AppleScript and JavaScript.

Create your shell script as run.sh in your $HOME/myfolder folder.
Paste the following one-line script into Script Editor:

do shell script "$HOME/myfolder/run.sh"

Then save it as an application.
Finally, add the application to your login items.

For login item, you can check this page: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-items-automatically-when-you-log-in-mh15189/mac


Unable to directly paste a link from Twitter into web forms in Mobile Safari When I copy a t.co link (tap/hold > Copy link) from the Twitter app, I am unable to paste into any web forms in Mobile Safari. I can still paste into other objects (e.g. the address bar, the search bar, the Notes app, etc).

Is this a bug? How can I avoid having to first paste the link and then recopy (Select All > Copy) it as @iglvzx suggests in the comments?

I had the same problem. I closed Twitter out and re-opened, then I was able to paste again.


Force OS X to use Bluetooth dongle instead of built in controller I'm using a Magic Mouse with my MacBook Pro and Mountain Lion. The cursor sometimes start to lag. I figured, the reason for this could be the distance between my Mac and the mouse (about 1.5 meters / 5 foot).

I bought an external USB Bluetooth dongle I want to plug into my monitor on my desk, so the mouse is closer to the controller. However, I can't figure out how to make OS X use the external dongle instead of the built in controller.

When I go into System Prefs > Bluetooth and hold the Option key to display the reception, I see that it is the strongest when it's next to my Mac and not when it's next to the dongle. So what can I do to change that? Thanks!

To force the system to use USB Bluetooth dongle by default, run the following command:

sudo nvram bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior=always

This will modify your boot kernel arguments.

To do opposite, use never. The change would be applied after the reboot. To return to the default, run:

sudo nvram -d bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior

You shouldn't have that much of a reception issue from 1.5 meters. Even with some interference between the mini and your mouse, BT should be fine so I might be suspect of something else causing the issue rather than the Mac Mini BT card. But yeah, go into System Preferences > Bluetooth and turn it off.


Disk cloning fails due to wrong format I am attempting to clone a 120gb Mac disk to a new 500gb hard disk. The hard disk has previously been used as an external disk on a PC, but has been reinitialised for Mac. However, it seems that no matter what method I use to clone (tried SuperDuper, CCC and Disk Utility), it seems as if the system thinks the disk is in the wrong format.

To test the 500gb disk, I put a clean install of Snow Leopard on it, and successfully booted another MacBook from it. At this point, I figured I had successfully ensured it would then be seen as a Mac disk when I cloned to it - but it wasn't. The software either doesn't see it at all or thinks it's formatted in Microsoft FAT32 format.

How can I fix this?

This from Disk Utility's log:

2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000: Preparing to partition disk: “WDC WD50 00BPKT-00PK4T0 Media”
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:  Partition Scheme: GUID Partition Table
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:  1 volume will be created
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:  Partition 1
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:      Name       : “Macintosh HD - new”
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:      Size       : 465.8 GB
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:      Filesystem : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000:
2012-10-28 11:13:26 +0000: Creating partition map.
2012-10-28 11:13:29 +0000: Formatting disk1s2 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Macintosh HD - new.
2012-10-28 11:13:39 +0000: Partition complete.
2012-10-28 11:13:39 +0000:
**********
2012-10-28 17:25:50 +0000: Disk Utility started.
2012-10-28 17:26:57 +0000: Verifying volume “disk1s1” Starting verification tool:  2012-10-28 17:26:57 +0000
2012-10-28 17:26:57 +0000: Verify volume failed: Unrecognized Filesystem.

And this is what Disk Utility now reports:

Disk Description :  WDC WD50 00BPKT-00PK4T0 Media   Total Capacity :    465.8 GB (500,107,862,016 Bytes)
Connection Bus :    USB Write Status :  Read/Write
Connection Type :   External    S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
USB Serial Number : 000001D91811    Partition Map Scheme :  Master Boot Record

Your question is not very clear, but the problem is most likely to do with Partition Map Scheme :  Master Boot Record - this should be Partition Scheme: GUID Partition Table for a bootable OS X disk for a Mac with an Intel processor (the ones that have been sold by Apple for the last 6+ years).

The Partition Map Scheme :  Master Boot Record scheme is popular on Microsoft operating systems and can be used for disks that are not bootable on OS X and are required to just store data.

Thanks for advice, I have now resolved this, using this tutorial:

http://www.macinstruct.com/node/130