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Q: How can I combine two PDFs in Preview? How can I combine two PDFs in Preview?
A: Here's a detailed explanation of how to use Automator. It looks complicated but it only took me a couple of minutes to reproduce it on my computer...
http://www.documentsnap.com/how-to-combine-pdf-files-in-mac-osx-using-automator-to-make-a-service/
A: First, you can only merge pdf if they are not protected, if this is the okay :
*
*Open both pdf
*Enable the sidebar in each windows of Preview, then select "Thumbnails" view
*Drag & drop the cover (inside the sidebar) of one pdf into the sidebar of the other pdf.
With this method, you can completely merge two pdf or selectively drag & drop the pages you want to merge to create a completely custom new pdf.
You can also extract pages from one pdf still using the same manipulation, but drag & drop to the Desktop.
A: I know you asked for 'Preview' solutions, but in case you're interested in a command-line tool:
alias pdfjoin='/System/Library/Automator/Combine\ PDF\ Pages.action/Contents/Resources/join.py'
Then you can do things like
pdfjoin -o out.pdf file1.pdf file2.pdf ...
A: Another way is with Automator. You can combine many pages into one PDF with that. It has a "Combine PDF Pages" action.
A: Pretty sure the easiest is to open all jpgs or images in Preview, then go to Print, and instead of actually printing, save as a PDF. Boom. All images in one PDF.
A: I do this all the time (I print my expense report to PDF and then have to insert all the scanned receipts and other PDF receipts into that document). The easiest way I have found is to open the target PDF in "Contact Sheet" view and then from Finder you can drag and drop the files into the Preview window of the target file. This makes very quick work of assembling multiple PDFs into a single document
A: A really usefull tool to combine multiple PDFs is the following service:
https://joinpdf.online/
It allows you to merge several PDF pages online and download the merged PDF file afterwards.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/812",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "13"
} |
Q: Can I use bootcamp without reformatting my hard drive? I would really like to install ububtu on my Mac using bootcamp but it requires me to reformat my disk first. I have programs with license keys that I don't want to loose, or buy another copy of, and also just don't want to go through the trouble of reformatting.
Is there a way I could do this?
A: Boot Camp doesn't require you to reformat your drive. HFS+ partitions can be live-resized by the Boot Camp Assistant or the Disk Utility without going through the trouble of erasing everything. No file on your Mac OS partition will be affected.
There is, however, the case where you've had your computer for long and Mac OS has written files all across your drive. In this case, you will need to defragment your drive, in order to put all your files in a nice contiguous space on your hard drive, so that all the remaining space is contiguous too and a partition can be made there. As far as I know, iDefrag can do this for about $15. (Disclaimer: I never did it and can't guarantee it will work. But it should. Can someone confirm?)
The other way, if you have an external drive, is to copy all your files to this external drive using a software like Carbon Copy Cloner (free), reformat your drive, then copy them all back to your drive. Everything should be like before and you'll have no hassle except the time required to copy back and forth (your programs and your serial numbers and the such will be intact).
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/815",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "8"
} |
Q: Is there an OS X dashboard widget for notes from the iPhone Notes app? I'm looking for a Dashboard widget for OS X that allows you to read and edit notes—the pieces of text in iPhone Notes application and Mail.app. (I.e., something analogous to the To Do Widget which shows the same To Do items that you can access through iCal.)
I don't use Mail.app regularly and would like some quicker way to access the notes synced from my iPhone.
Edit: To reiterate, this question is specifically about the notes in iPhone's Notes app (screenshot below) and in Mail.app. (And not e.g. about alternative notes apps for iPhone/OS X or iCal's To Do items.)
A: If you are looking for a way to sync and edit notes, then I suggest Simplenote. It isn't a Dashboard widget, but it's very lightweight and all of your notes are saved to a central server that all of your devices can see.
A: AFAIR Organized does what you want (among other things).
A: This doesn't exactly answer my original question either (which is about an OS X dashboard widget for accessing Notes), but it is the most useful note syncing solution I've found so far:
You can now (with iOS 4) sync Notes over the air with any IMAP email account. And MobileMe accounts too, as the relevant Apple support article points out: iPhone and iPod touch: Syncing Notes.
Specifically, you can easily sync Notes with your Gmail account. This blog post gives good instructions with screenshots.
Of course, in a way, a cloud-based approach like this is even better than having a widget on the one Mac you sync your iPhone with. There's this drawback though:
The notes can only be edited from an
iPhone or iPod Touch
In other words, you can only view them in Gmail.
A: I'm stuck with the same question but what I've managed to find is a useful widget for the mail.app and ical todo's. You can download it at http://todo.philipefatio.com/
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/818",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "5"
} |
Q: What tool do I best use to automatically cleanup / correct / complement the song info of all songs in my iTunes library?
Possible Duplicate:
Is there any features like winamp auto tag exists for iTunes?
Please suggest both mac and windows tools.
Please also tell us about your experience with this tool.
A: I find that dropping my music files onto MusicBrainz Picard almost always finds the correct name and fills out missing or incorrect information. It has a slightly steeper learning curve than some of the alternatives but the results are, in my experience, usually better.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/819",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: Can anyone recommend a good tutorial for writing (from scratch) a cron-style launchd job? I've got a fairly simple job that I'd like to run every hour. I could do it using cron, but I thought I'd use this to learn about launchd, since I hear good things about it. I've got the man launchd.plist page as a reference, but I'm looking for something based more around building an example job.
A: I know it's not a good tutorial, but you could have a look at the Daemons and Services Programming Guide from Apple, which has a section on Scheduling Timed Jobs.
I know it's not a full tutorial, but, with it, you can understand the basics of launchd.
It also provides an example of a crond task :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
"http://www.apple.
com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.apple.periodic-daily</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/usr/sbin/periodic</string>
<string>daily</string>
</array>
<key>LowPriorityIO</key>
<true/>
<key>Nice</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
<dict>
<key>Hour</key>
<integer>3</integer>
<key>Minute</key>
<integer>15</integer>
</dict>
</dict>
</plist>
A: This has helped me a lot: http://launchd.info
It covers configuration, administration and troubleshooting using Terminal or the launchd GUI LaunchControl. Examples are provided as well.
A: I know you were looking for a tutorial, but on the off-chance someone comes here as part of looking for a tool to help them make/edit launchd entries, I've used this before: Lingon (sourceforge)
It's no longer being actively developed but what's there does work (and obviously includes source etc). I've used it on Snow Leopard to schedule backups to the Amazon cloud, etc.
A: launchd runs Daemons (/Library/LaunchDaemons or /System/Library/LaunchDaemons) as root, and will run them regardless of whether users are logged in or not. Launch Agents (/Library/LaunchAgents/ or ~/Library/LaunchAgents/) are run when a user is logged in as that user. You can not use setuid to change the user running the script on daemons. The /System directory is reserved for Mac OS X tasks so I recommend putting your launchd plists into either the /Library or the ~/Library folder as it makes sense.
So the first step is determining if you're making an agent or a daemon.
The second step is to make your .plist file. You can use GUI-based programs such as Lingon to help with this or just use your favourite text editor:
A sample .plist for running a script every hour (StartInterval or StartIntervalCalendar are the keys we want - StartInterval for an item to happen every x seconds, StartIntervalCalendar for a specific time and/or date. See 126907 on SuperUser for an example I made with StartCalendarInterval):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>local.IDENTIFIER_HERE.SOMETHING</string>
<key>OnDemand</key>
<true/>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<false/>
<key>UserName</key>
<string>USERNAME HERE</string>
<key>Program</key>
<string>/PATH/TO/SCRIPT</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>Argument_1</string>
<string>Argument_2</string>
</array>
<key>StartInterval</key>
<integer>3600</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
Modify the .plist as necessary to point to your script and any arguments as necessary (arguments are on separate lines) and save the file with the same name as the Label value but with .plist at the end. (for example, local.my-mac.flickrstats would be saved as local.my-mac.flickrstats.plist). If you haven't already, move that .plist file to /Library/LaunchDaemons when making a Daemon (runs all the time) or to ~/Library/LaunchAgents (only you're logged in) or /Library/LaunchAgents (any user is logged in).
To start the job you want to run launchctl as necessary to load the file. For items in /Library, you should use sudo: for example, sudo launchctl load -w /PATH/TO/PLIST
For reference also check out the following questions on Super User: Launchd command as root, Load a system wide daemon, and How can I get a script to run every day
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/820",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "20"
} |
Q: Why does my Spotlight index get corrupted? Recently I have been having an issue where at least once a month my Spotlight index gets corrupted, and I can no longer search the content of mail in Mail.app. I can fix the problem by taking my HD out of Spotlight, and then putting it back in, but it then takes about 4 hours to re-index the drive.
Why is my Spotlight index getting munged? Do other applications besides Finder mess about with it?
Is there a way to keep the index optimized or repair it, such as when I repair a MySQL table?
A: Just for reference, Spotlight index shouldn’t get corrupted, but when that’s the case see this question.
You have to remember that spotlight is a database and as such is prone to corruption; compared to relational databases for example, spotlight can only be deleted and rebuilt when that happens. There’s no “spotlight -repair” command (one can only wish).
All in all, it’s rare to see Spotlight failing in OS X 10.6, it has been very stable compared to the first Tiger version.
External applications, on the other hand, can make use of the APIs to store information in the metadata, and here’s where we lose control of what goes in there. If one external application is storing bad data, it could cause the whole index to go nuts.
Since you have a healthy working index now, try it for a few weeks and pay attention to any application or utility that claims to support Spotlight.
Good Luck!
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/827",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: Why does my computer freeze when I unplug my headphones? Whenever I plug in or unplug my headphones into my computer, it freezes for about 10 seconds before it is able to do anything which is rather annoying. This didn't use to happen though, would anyone know the cause of this or how to fix it?
A: I faced a similar problem. I had a bluetooth headset and a wired one. Whenever I disconnected my wired one, sometimes the mac tried to connect to the bluetooth headset, and when it was switched off/out of range, the system would hang for sometime.
could be something similar. Can you give the list of speakers/headphones configured on your mac and their order (a screenshot would be convinient)
A: It is certainly not normal and it is indeed a software problem. Although low level drivers are normally for all users, it wouldn’t harm if you try this either under a new fresh user (just create one, reboot your computer, log in with the new one and do the plug-unplug thing).
Also, you can try rebooting and plugging-unplugging in the login screen. If it also hangs there, then there’s certainly something “odd” about your sound drivers and further investigation (and/or system logs analysis) will be required.
If you have a spare drive, and to make sure there isn’t anything hardware related, you might want to try to install a fresh copy of your OS into that drive and see if it happens there, on the fresh install.
There might be a problem with the headphone’s internal hard/soft as well, so testing on another machine wouldn’t hurt to rule out an external problem.
A: Happens the same in my MacBook, but I think it is because it is switching the software (OS) to send the sound signal to the speakers or the headphones plug. In my MacBooks takes 3 seconds, maybe in yours is more (10 seconds) because you have a lot of software running in the background.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/828",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: Do Macs need to be defragmented? I don't see any application to defragment my Mac (running OS X).
Is defragmenting not necessary for Mac OS X? If so, why not?
A: It's not necessary. For more details than you could possibly want, read Fragmentation in HFS Plus Volumes by Amit Singh (author of Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach).
A: There's no such thing which you should (have to) use. If Apple felt it was needed, it would have been built-in.
Mac differs entirely from Windows for example.
Please check: http://osxdaily.com/2014/01/13/defrag-mac-hard-drive-necessary-or-not/
A: HFS, the filesystem Mac OS X uses (technically HFS+) has a number of built-in measures that reduce fragmentation of the drive. First, it uses extent-based allocation, which is just a fancy way of saying that it writes multiple contiguous blocks of data a time (and therefore inherently has less fragmentation of data). Second, it uses delayed allocation, meaning that disks writes are "queued" and written to the drive as a group (again, inherently less fragmentation). On top of that, Mac OS X does on the fly defragmentation of files.
The long and short is that fragmentation isn't really an issue for Macs, which is why you don't see a program to defragment drives in Mac OS X.
As a side note, there are commercial programs that will defragment drives in OS X, but this is essentially snake-oil. There might be some small level of fragmentation on your drive, and these apps will surely take care of that. But, it's 100% unnecessary, and you're unlikely to see any benefit.
A: Most people will tell you Macs don't suffer from disk fragmentation, citing technical arguments most people don't understand.
It's somewhat true: since there's nothing you can do about it without spending $20 on something that might not improve the performance of your computer at all, you could instead focus on other maintenance tasks and just buy a shiny new mac (or reinstall) when the old one gets too slow.
But: An important prerequisite for not caring about disk fragmentation is always keeping some free space on your disk (I couldn't find any recommendation not pulled out of thin air, but 20% is often mentioned).
And to keep the facts straight:
*
*There are features in Mac OS X designed to prevent some of fragmentation.
*Apple believes these features are enough to spare the majority of their users from caring about fragmentation issues, but also says you ''might'' benefit from defragmenting in some cases (e.g. "If your disks are almost full, and you often modify or create large files")
*There's no built-in or free and popular defragmenter utility for Mac OS X (although there are commercial ones)
*Some people do have issues caused by fragmentation (1, 2)
*There's no easy way to tell if your specific problem is caused by fragmentation.
BTW (@Dori's answer), the cited Fragmentation in HFS Plus Volumes explicitly says this:
Note that I do not intend to make any claims regarding the fragmentation-resistance of HFS+. I have sampled too few a volume to generalize my "results".
P.S. I know that web browsers (the field I'm interested in) are at least sometimes are affected by fragmentation (ex.: mozilla, chrome). I myself had an issue similar to the one described in mozillla's issue tracker.
A: Generally speaking, you do not need to defrag HFS+. While it is possible to fragment it, the implementation in the OS X kernel includes a number of features that tend to limit fragmentation, including deferred block allocation and hot banding. Unless you do something really odd (constantly keep the drive over 99% full while doing lots of reads and deletes) it is very hard to significantly fragment the drive.
The only time it is generally worthwhile to defrag an OS X drive is when you are trying to do an LVM operation (like shrink a partition for bootcamp), and the builtin tools fail. The reason is that those failures are largely caused by some core structure of the volume (Like the extents or catalog file) existing in blocks outside the target layout. Technically those are files, but because they are used to store volume metadata the builtin file move code has trouble moving them on a live (mounted) partition, but defrag utilities that work on the disk offline can just move them to the beginning of the partition, which allows the volume resizer to work.
So, while defrag utils are generally not worthwhile, they aren't snake oil, just very specialized tools.
A: No, it doesn't. Mac OS X does it itself for files over 20MB, and for SSDs it doesn't matter at all.
A: osx obviously needs defragmenters when you need to shrink the partitions where it is installed, or when you use hfs+ somewhere else
an excellent example is when you, after only using osx for years and start to use a dual-boot there, like installing a second operating system like gnu/linux (exactly like i did this week), and it is known gnu/linux (like ubuntu) are getting mroe and more popular day by day, specially among osx users - in this context, and it is not as rare, it is totally counterproductive and nonsense having to backup all the information, reformat the partition after resizing it, reinstall osx back again when you just needed to defrag it before resizing it
so everyone, please don’t say no one need defrag tools on osx, or for hfs+ - saying such thing is just ludicrous, as i explained...
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/829",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "56"
} |
Q: Is there a limit on the number of Macs that can use a single 2TB Time Capsule? I am looking at buying a few of the 2TB Time Capsules for our office, where we have about 20 unibody MacBook Pros with 128GB SSDs.
Is there a limit on the number of Macs that a single 2TB Time Capsule can provide Time Machine backup targets to? Does anyone have advice or experience regarding using a Time Capsule as a target for multiple machines?
A: According to this post on Apple's product page for the Time Capsule, up to 100 machines can use a single Time Capsule. The source of the "100" is not accredited, so it may not be accurate.
A: I would take care with having several Time Capsules as you will then have several Wireless networks and you need to work out how they interconnect.
It might be better to get some NAS and run Time Machine on that e.g. Netgear or even a Mac and run OS X server on that.
A: There shouldn’t be any technical limit other than hard drive space. Each backup gets stored in different directories inside the volume. However, I’m sure you’d start running out of space fast if you have more than two-three machines that actively create/edit data.
A: I use a LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disk with TimeMachine and have so far backed up 6 different machines with it and recovered 2 times. I don't know if there is an upper limit.
A: This is a very workable solution. There is no built in limit and you can look over the system logs to see if any machines take too long to back up due to slowness and lighten the load on any one Time Capsule as needed.
For some people it's ideal, very maintainable, and drop dead simple to plan and support.
You can use BackupLoupe to look into the individual backups to see what files are changing and estimate how fast each Mac is filling up the space on the backup drives. You could use one Mac connected to the Ethernet port to scan the files without any WiFi delays and once scanned, you have the information on that Mac to examine "offline". You can mount the volumes and scan them as needed to update them as time passes - maybe once a month to check on things.
Do run a comparison on how much it would cost to buy a Mac mini server and use it to back up everything in one spot instead of several Time Capsules. You could then save money on the networking with Extremes and Expresses and have better expansion options. I would guess this is more cost-effective and easier/more powerful if you are buying three Time Capsules and might even be better even if you only are buying two Time Capsules.
Setting aside the cost of the initial hardware, a back of the napkin comparison might look like this assuming you need the TC for WiFi networking as well as backup functionality:
*
*Three Time Capsules
*
*Easier to set up initially (if you guess well or over-buy storage you may never need to maintain which Mac backs up where minimizing maintenance)
*Takes more time to plan and track which Mac backs up where
*Harder to predict when space
will run out
*Add space in increment of new Time Capsules (pricier storage)
*Takes more time to track / reconfigure clients when adding more space (especially if you intend to move the previous backup to the new TC and don't want to cut that user off from their backup history)
*TC backups are harder to backup, archive, or move around (if you even need this)
*One Mac mini + Airport Extreme + optional AirPort Express to extend the network
*
*Harder to set up initially (maybe one day's reading, learning, and doing)
*No hassle or time to shuffle or track which Mac backs up where
*Easier to predict when space will run out
*Can add more space by adding more drives (less pricey storage)
*No need to reconfigure clients as more space is added
*Very easy backup of the server and backup data (if you even need this)
You can minimize the work on maintaining a fleet of Time Capsules by periodically backing up each Mac to a connected HD and then deleting the backup for that Mac and starting Time Machine fresh. Rolling those with 1/4 of the Macs every three months will spread the work and let each Mac generally have a year of history before it gets erased and starts anew.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/831",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: Automatically relaunch a closed macOS application I have an application that opens when I log in.
Is there a way to relaunch it automatically if it crashes or if I close it inadvertently?
The application in question is Transmission, if there is any solution specific to this app.
In a perfect world, it could even be launched even without me opening a session.
A: You could write a launchd script to do it. Launchd can watch for applications and restart them if they disappear. I might have one somewhere if you are interested.
Updated with an example...
See mankoff's example. Here's mine, it's slightly different but works the same...
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
<key>KeepAlive</key>
<true/>
<key>Label</key>
<string>keep.it.running</string>
<key>Program</key>
<string>/Applications/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS/Address Book</string>
</dict>
</plist>
A: Here is my launchd script to keep SomeApp always running.
Name it SomeApp.restart.plist and place it in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
<key>KeepAlive</key>
<true/>
<key>Label</key>
<string>SomeApp.restart</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/path/to/SomeApp.app/Contents/MacOS/SomeApp</string>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>
Load it once with
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/SomeApp.restart.plist
Launchctl will run this after reboots.
*
*RunAtLoad will launch the application the first time launchctl runs this
*KeepAlive will restart it if the application quits (CMD+Q or crash)
Should run forever. If you want a GUI tool to help, Lingon works even though development has stopped.
A: You can open applications on the background with open -jg or the launch command in AppleScript.
#!/bin/bash
open -jg -a FastScripts -a Mail
osascript -e 'launch app "Alfred"'
KeepAlive is not needed. RunAtLoad would also run the program on the zeroth interval.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.stackexchange.apple.837</string>
<key>Program</key>
<string>/Users/username/Library/Scripts/open applications.sh</string>
<key>StartInterval</key>
<integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/837",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "14"
} |
Q: Should I turn my iPad off to replace the MicroSIM? Should I turn my iPad off to replace the MicroSIM card?
A: If by "3g chip", you are referring to the iPad MicroSIM card, then no, you do not need to power off the device to switch it out. However, if you're referring to the actual 3G radio inside the iPad, my advice is to take it to an Apple store and have the repair done by an Apple technician, as operating on the device yourself is likely to void the warranty.
A: Yes, you should turn off your iPad before doing anything with the innards.
A: It always better to switch off such devices before replacing SIMs. With the exception of USB ports found on computers, its always recommended to turn off devices before connecting or replacing cables and chips.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/846",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: Do any window managers allow me to snap windows to the sides of the display? Can you recommend a Window Manager for the Mac? I would like to have a keyboard shortcut that would snap a windows to the left or right half of my screen.
A: Divvy
Divvy is a little menubar app that
allows you to automatically resize any
active window. Divviy virtually
divides your screen into a 6x6 grid.
When invoked, Divvy brings up a little
HUD in the middle of the screen with
this 6x6 grid. Depending on what part
of your screen you want to resize your
active window, just drag and select
those squares on the HUD and the
window does the rest. It’s that
simple.
A: After testing SizeUp and Breeze, I've decided that Breeze fits my needs the best. Both allow you to position windows on the left, right, or Fullscreen. The feature that sold it for me was setting a default size & position for an application and assigning it a shortcut key.
A: ShiftIt (original version at link discontinued) does this, and is free and open source.
Edit: The project is now on GitHub, however the last release was in November 2010.
A: Moom
I've heard some people talk this one up too:
Do you spend a lot of time moving and zooming windows, so you can better see and work with all the content on your Mac? Instead of doing that work yourself, let Moom handle the task for you.
A: If you have a magic mouse or magic trackpad, BetterTouchTool is better as you can set specific gestures to manage the windows. Like a four finger left swipe can be to resize the window to the left 50% of the screen.
A: Moom is great. You can snap windows to: full screen, half screen, quarter screen. You can also resize with a grid. It supports custom keyboard shortcuts, too.
A: I personally use SizeUp and Divvy on a daily basis. If I had known about ShiftIt earlier, I probably wouldn't have paid for SizeUp. Another one to check out that hasn't been mentioned yet is BetterTouchTool, which has a lot of other features, but hidden in the advanced options is a nice feature they call "Window Snapping" which snaps the window to the left or right of the screen when you drag it to the side. Doesn't have keyboard shortcut functionality included, but it is a nice supplement to SizeUp and Divvy.
A: I found here from an off topic question on Stack Overflow:
There were two Open Source mangers mentioned there that did not show up on this list:
*
*Spectacle -> http://spectacleapp.com/
*Slate -> https://github.com/jigish/slate (setup requires work on the command line)
Another from the App Store
*
*Slicer -> https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slicer/id487999732?mt=12
A: Here is an Applescript that will tile all of the open windows in the frontmost application. Add to ~/Library/Scripts and call from the Applescript menu in the menu bar. Add salt to taste (and free).
--tile windows of frontmost applications in a grid
--this script is useful for
--multiple window chatting
--working side by side of several windows of the same app
--make need to make it as a stay open application later
--for now assume that it is opened and closed per invokation
property horizontalSpacing : 10 -- sets the horizontal spacing between windows
property verticalSpacing : 10 -- sets the vertical spacing between windows
property maxRows : 2
property maxCols : 2
on run {}
local a
set userscreen to my getUserScreen()
--display dialog (getFrntApp() as string)
try
set applist to getFrntApp()
if length of applist = 0 then
return
end if
set a to item 1 of getFrntApp()
on error the error_message number the error_number
display dialog "Error: " & the error_number & ". " & the error_message buttons {"OK"} default button 1
end try
try
tileScriptable(a, userscreen)
on error the error_message number the error_number
--display dialog "Error: " & the error_number & ". " & the error_message buttons {"OK"} default button 1
try
tileUnscriptable(a, userscreen)
on error the error_message number the error_number
display dialog "Error: " & the error_number & ". " & the error_message buttons {"OK"} default button 1
end try
end try
end run
on tileScriptable(a, screen)
local i, c
set i to 1
tell application named a
set theWindows to every window of application a whose visible is true and floating is false and ¬
modal is false -- and miniaturized is false
set c to count theWindows
if c = 0 then
return
end if
set tiles to calTileBounds(c, screen, 1)
repeat with theWindow in theWindows
my tileScriptableWindow(a, theWindow, item i of tiles)
set i to i + 1
end repeat
end tell
end tileScriptable
on tileUnscriptable(a, screeninfo)
-- unscriptable app
local i, c
set i to 1
tell application "System Events"
set theWindows to (every window of application process a)
--set theWindows to my filterUnscriptableInvisible(theWindows)
set c to count theWindows
if c = 0 then
return
end if
--display dialog screeninfo as string giving up after 5
set tiles to my calTileBounds(c, screeninfo, 1)
repeat with theWindow in theWindows
--display dialog (class of visible of theWindow)
my tileUnScriptableWindow(a, theWindow, item i of tiles)
set i to i + 1
end repeat
end tell
end tileUnscriptable
on filterUnscriptableInvisible(ws)
-- filter out from ws windows that are docked
set newws to {}
set docklist to getNamesDocked()
--display dialog (docklist as string)
repeat with theWindow in ws
if name of theWindow is not in docklist then
set end of newws to theWindow
end if
end repeat
--display dialog (count newws)
return newws
end filterUnscriptableInvisible
on getNamesDocked()
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Dock"'s list 1
set l to name of UI elements whose subrole is "AXMinimizedWindowDockItem"
end tell
return l
end getNamesDocked
on tileScriptableWindow(a, w, bound)
tell application a
set bounds of w to bound
end tell
end tileScriptableWindow
on tileUnScriptableWindow(a, w, bound)
tell application "System Events"
--display dialog (count position of w)
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to " "
set position of w to {(item 1 of bound), (item 2 of bound)}
-- why the -5?
set size of w to {(item 3 of bound) - (item 1 of bound) - 5, ¬
(item 4 of bound) - (item 2 of bound) - 5}
--display dialog (count properties of w)
end tell
end tileUnScriptableWindow
on calTileBounds(nWindows, screen, direction)
-- return a list of lists of window bounds
-- a simple tile algo that tiles along direction (current only 1=horizontal)
local nrows, nColumns, irow, icolumn, nSpacingWidth, nSpacingHeight, nWindowWidth, nWindowHeight
set {x0, y0, availScreenWidth, availScreenHeight} to screen
set ret to {}
set nrows to (nWindows div maxCols)
if (nWindows mod maxCols) ≠ 0 then
set nrows to nrows + 1
end if
if nrows < maxRows then
set nSpacingHeight to (nrows - 1) * verticalSpacing
set nWindowHeight to (availScreenHeight - nSpacingHeight) / nrows
else
set nSpacingHeight to (maxRows - 1) * verticalSpacing
set nWindowHeight to (availScreenHeight - nSpacingHeight) / maxRows
end if
repeat with irow from 0 to nrows - 1
if nrows ≤ maxRows and irow = nrows - 1 then
set nColumns to nWindows - irow * maxCols
else
set nColumns to maxCols
end if
set nSpacingWidth to (nColumns - 1) * horizontalSpacing
set nWindowWidth to (availScreenWidth - nSpacingWidth) / nColumns
set nTop to y0 + (irow mod maxRows) * (verticalSpacing + nWindowHeight)
--display dialog "Top: " & nTop buttons {"OK"} default button 1
repeat with icolumn from 0 to nColumns - 1
set nLeft to x0 + (icolumn) * (horizontalSpacing + nWindowWidth)
set itile to {¬
nLeft, ¬
nTop, ¬
nLeft + nWindowWidth, ¬
nTop + nWindowHeight}
set end of ret to itile
--display dialog item 3 of itile as string
--set itile to {x0 + (icolumn - 1) * wgrid, y0, wgrid, hgrid}
--set item 3 of itile to ((item 1 of itile) + (item 3 of itile))
--set item 4 of itile to ((item 2 of itile) + (item 4 of itile))
end repeat
end repeat
return ret
end calTileBounds
on getFrntApp()
tell application "System Events" to set frntProc to ¬
name of every process whose frontmost is true and visible ≠ false
return frntProc
end getFrntApp
on getUserScreen()
-- size of the menubar
tell application "System Events"
set {menuBarWidth, menuBarHeight} to size of UI element 1 of application process "SystemUIServer"
--display dialog "Menubar width: " & menubarWidth & ", height: " & menubarHeight
set dockApp to (application process "Dock")
set {dockWidth, dockHeight} to size of UI element 1 of dockApp
--display dialog "Dock width: " & dockWidth & ", height: " & dockHeight
set dockPos to position of UI element 1 of dockApp
--display dialog "Dock x: " & (item 1 of dockPos) & ", y: " & (item 2 of dockPos)
end tell
-- size of the full screen
(*
{word 3 of (do shell script "defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver | grep -w Width") as number, ¬
word 3 of (do shell script "defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver | grep -w Height") as number}
*)
tell application "Finder"
set screenSize to bounds of window of desktop
set screenWidth to item 3 of screenSize
set screenHeight to item 4 of screenSize
end tell
--display dialog "Screen width: " & screenWidth & ", height: " & screenHeight
-- by default, set the available screen size to the full screen size
set availableWidth to screenWidth
set availableHeight to screenHeight - menuBarHeight
set availableX to 0
set availableY to menuBarHeight
--determine the userscreen origin and size
-- case 0: hidden dock
-- if (item 1 of dockPos < 0 or item 1 of dockPos ≥ screenHeight) then
-- no need to change anything
-- end if
-- case 1: bottom dock
if ((item 2 of dockPos) + dockHeight = screenHeight) then
set availableHeight to availableHeight - dockHeight
end if
-- case 2: left dock
if (item 1 of dockPos = 0) then
set availableWidth to availableWidth - dockWidth
set availableX to dockWidth
end if
-- case 3: right dock
if ((item 1 of dockPos) + dockWidth = screenWidth) then
set availableWidth to availableWidth - dockWidth
end if
return {availableX, availableY, availableWidth, availableHeight}
end getUserScreen
Source: MacScripter via Google
A: You can also try Slate which is free and open source.
You might also want to read this article about it.
A: SizeUp is exactly what you need:
SizeUp allows you to quickly position a window to fill exactly half the screen (splitscreen), a quarter of the screen (quadrant), full screen, or centered via the menu bar or configurable system-wide shortcuts (hotkeys). Similar to "tiled windows" functionality available on other operating systems.
A: First of all, if free is important to you, get ShiftIt.
If convenience from a mouse is important to you, get Cinch. It's in the Mac App Store.
Finally if you have a Macbook or a Magic Trackpad, get JiTouch. It will allow you to assign a gesture to many, many things; one of which is full screen, half-left, half-right. Seriously check it out if you like gestures even a little. It's like having a mouse with 100+ buttons.
JiTouch
A: From what I've seen and heard, Cinch is a great application for bringing the window management of Windows 7 to Mac OS X.
A: MercuryMover
You might also look at MercuryMover, which gives you a range of window moving tools under a series of keyboard mappings. I used to use this a lot when struggling with a small laptop screen, and you can get it to flip a window to the edge of a screen etc. It most closely maps the 'move' system menu functionality that you get in normal Windows 'windows'.
A: I'm using Magnet, is available on the AppStore
http://magnet.crowdcafe.com
A: As far as I understand you question, you want to stick the window to the edge of the screen, so that the side of the window is directly on the edge of the screen. This is now possible on macOS Sierra (10.12) natively.
All you need to do is to move the window you want to position (by clicking and dragging the top of the window) to the side that you want it to stick to. You need to do this slowly, or else it won't work. After you drag the window over to the edge, it will stick a while and that's when you should stop.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "21"
} |
Q: Quicksilver goes straight to text-entry mode On my old-ish MacBook Pro (pre-unibody), Quicksilver has been misbehaving for quite some time. I fire the keyboard command to launch it (I like command-space, replacing Spotlight), and it comes up in text-entry mode rather than selection mode. I can hit escape and QS closes, but nothing I can do makes it come up prepared to navigate the objects it knows about.
It used to work just great. But it's a waste of cycles right now because it's completely unable to function as what it does.
I've re-launched it, I've deleted and re-installed it. Nothing seems to help.
A: If I recall, there's a QS trigger called something like "Command Window In Text Mode." Go to Quicksilver>Triggers>Quicksilver, I think, and look at what triggers are enabled.
Another possibility is that you have the "Spacebar Behavior" set to "Switch to text mode" in Quicksilver>Preferences>Command, and this is getting triggered when you use cmd-space. It shouldn't matter, but it's worth a look.
| {
"language": "en",
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} |
Q: How can I free up some disk space? I'm about to run out of disk space, and I know I have a lot of junk on my macbook but I don't know how to find it to figure out how to delete it.
Is there an easy command line way through terminal to list my biggest files on my drive? Or is there a GUI program that could help me find all the offending huge files that I'm not using?
A: Start with Monolingual: http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/ it removes extra languages and locales from your computer. Saves quite a bit of space without any real loss of usability (unless you speak several languages and want to use them...)
A: If you're looking for specific things to tear out, look at all the Garageband samples and support files. They take up a LOT of space, and if you're not going to be making music you won't miss 'em.
A: You can try :
*
*Disk Inventory X (free one)
*DaisyDisk (paid one)
A: I really like What Size - it's also on the Mac App store, but has many features that won't be allowed on the store (like checking sizes as the administrator, and actually deleting / thinning files to remove code that can't possibly be run like PPC code on an intel mac).
It is paid software - but well worth the expense for me. I have used it over slow network connections, many external drives and my boot volume to see quickly where all the space is so I can know what is possible to clean up and when it's just not possible due to there being no huge folders or files that I can afford to remove.
The find duplicates function is great and there are many other views, but it's geared to giving you the biggest space users on top no matter what view you choose.
A: Omni Disk Sweeper by Omni Group is good at helping find the mountains of stuff.
I find that apps and the system folders generally don't take up that much space (everything being relative), that the real hogs are in the Documents, Music, and Movies folders of my user folder.
A: Two things...
*
*If you are starting to run out of disk space deleting files isn't going to help much unless you have massive amounts of waste, eg Old systems from doing an archive and install OS update.Start thinking about getting a bigger hard drive or some extra drives.
*In terminal type...
du -hs *
This will list each directory with it's size. It will look smething like this...
3.6G Desktop
3.9G Development
42G Documents
1.6G Downloads
4.5M Dropbox
If anything looks unexpectedly large cd into the directory and run the command again. Rinse and repeat until you find what you are looking for.
A: I highly recommend GrandPerspective(Free). Just finding the largest files isn't always that useful: 20 gbs of 3mb music files wouldn't show up, for example. GrandPerspective gives you a great visual breakdown of your harddrive contents regardless of whether your wasted files are in one big .dmg or a few hundred small files or whatever. Further, if you know most waste is in, for example, your home folder, you can specify which directory to show.
A: You can also set Finder to the horizontal list view (not sure what that view is called), enable the Size column (see View Options, CMD J), and select "Calculate All Sizes" again in the View Options window.
Now sort by size. Start off in your Home folder. See what sub-folders are biggest. Drill down and explore.
A: While I agree with all suggestions above regarding apps that help you to visualize what is taking space on your HDD, you may find yourself in situation where you actually can't delete those files and have to keep it on your hard drive.
In this case, you can use this utility - Squeeze to transparently compress your files in the background. It helped me to find couple of gigabytes of space without deleting stuff and I was able to use it on pretty old Macbook without any performance penalties.
A: The command line way of doing it would be
du -ksx /* | sort -n
this should be run as root (either in a root shell or with sudo) and gives you the sizes of the top-level directories sorted by size (and maybe some error messages about /dev/something).
Then you can refine with
du -ksx /Users/* | sort -n
and so on.
(using du -k instead of -h as proposed by Henry makes it possible to sort by size)
A: I owe a few of the free and paid apps mentioned here, and I find it odd that nobody mentioned Whatsize. I think it’s the one that displays the space in the best possible way. It’s not too “graphical” but then again, it shows you the numbers which are the important thing.
It’s not free, but I have used it extensively and it never disappoints me.
A: On Snow Lion or better, you can use afsctool (available through homebrew) to compress large files from the terminal.
It essentially does what ClustersApp(the aforementioned 'Squeeze') does, but free and without a pretty interface, unless you have a lovely Terminal.app theme.
| {
"language": "en",
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"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "30"
} |
Q: How can I Open Multiple Customized Terminal Shells? How can I customized Terminal so that when I open the application it opens several shell tabs?
If possible I would like to also have it run a different environment script for each tab.
Example: Run this command source bin/activate which is a Python virtualenv setup command.
A: Add this to your ~/.bash_profile if you use bash or ~/.zshrc if you use zsh, changing the content of the COMMANDS array:
function openterms() {
COMMANDS=("source bin/activate" "add another here" "continue likewise")
for command in $COMMANDS
do osascript -e \
"tell application \"Terminal\" to do script with command \"$command\""
done
}
Now calling openterms in a shell will open all the other shells you wanted.
A: I'm using Keyboard Maestro. I once recorded a macro that sets up Terminal (I'm using iTerm, but it doesn't matter) the way I like and made this macro to be triggered by launching iTerm.
So when I launch, it is set up as I wanted. Two windows, five tabs in one for different folders with each Tab named appropriately, and another window with two tabs connected to my server, one of them launches a monitoring script. All of this is done within 2 seconds that the Terminal is launched, which previouosly would take a minute or more.
Now I'm not that afraid to close iTerm if I need since I can reopen it at the same state without any effort.
By the way, Keyboard Maestro is good for many other things too. I recently bought it with discount on mupromo.com, where I've discovered it for the first time but it's worth its full price, too, in my opinion.
A: As Josh K mentioned, you can create a Window Group for opening one or more windows with specific layouts and appearances. In addition, "settings profiles" (Terminal > Preferences > Settings) can specify a command to run when a terminal is created with that profile. You can create a separate profile for each command you wish to run, then create windows with those profiles. When you save them to a window group and open them again, those commands will run in their appropriate windows. You can even have Terminal open a specific window group at startup.
As of Mac OS X Lion 10.7, there are several new improvements in this area:
*
*Resume will automatically restore windows that were open when you quit Terminal, so using a window group for this is no longer strictly necessary (although they allow you to re-create a specific setup if you've closed the windows).
*If you create a new terminal using Shell > New Command, since Terminal knows what command you ran, it can restore it by running it again. Terminal will now automatically restore "safe" commands† when Resuming.
*Terminal will also restore these commands if you save these kinds of terminals into a window group. In addition, when saving a window group, there's an option to restore all commands, not just the "safe" ones. So, you no longer need to create a separate settings profile for each command you want to run.
† "Safe" commands include anything listed in /etc/shells, emacs, vi/vim, nano, pico, top, screen, tmux, and any command created with Shell > New Remote Connection (e.g., ssh sessions). Note that only top is considered "safe" when used with arguments; the others support arguments that may do things you wouldn't want them to without user confirmation, so they are not considered "safe" for automatic restoration unless they are invoked without arguments. You can customize the list of "safe" commands with "defaults write com.apple.Terminal RestorableCommands". The value is a list of strings containing the command names. To indicate that arguments are allowed, add an asterisk after a command. e.g., "top *" makes top safe when used with arguments, but "top" does not.
A: Alternatively, you can also use screen to open multiple tabs on a single window. screen is very flexible and can configure to run any scripts during the terminal startup.
More info.
A: Does this post describe what you want to do?
| {
"language": "en",
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"question_score": "11"
} |
Q: How can I unpack a .deb on Mac OS X without installing it? I have a .deb file that I want to unpack and examine, but not install. I'm currently looking for where i can download dpkg for OSX, but can't find it. If you have a link, please share.
A: ar is already installed on my mac on OS X. So just do
ar -x path/to/deb/file.deb
that's it. No need to install other software.
A: You can install dpkg using MacPorts or just download the sources.
A: While not OSX specific, if you have Docker for Mac installed, you could use an Ubuntu container to look inside the contents of the package:
docker run -it -v $(pwd):/data ubuntu:latest /bin/bash
dpkg -c /data/foo.deb
A: if you use MacPorts you can install dpkg and more package (like do it in debian or ubuntu).
after installing Macports go and install dpkg from here.
also you can find more info about dpkg in osx here. (This is now down - I don't know if temporarily or permanently)
A: At least on recent macOS versions, you can also use tar to extract UNIX archives:
tar xf package.deb
A: docker run -it -v $(pwd):/data ubuntu:latest /bin/bash
# or with fish
# docker run -it -v (pwd):/data ubuntu:latest /bin/bash
cd data
dpkg -x wkhtmltox_0.12.6-1.focal_amd64.deb out
ls out/usr/local/bin/
works well for wkhtmltoimage and wkhtmltopdf
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/867",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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"question_score": "38"
} |
Q: How can I automate changing the quality of several photos? I would like to be able to reduce the quality of the photos I have in a directory through some sort of automation. One of the requirements is that I cannot change the dimensions of the photo. The way I have been doing it so far is just by
*
*opening each photo in preview
*choosing save as
*selecting jpeg
*selecting a low quality
*saving
This can take a long time when I have over 100 photos. Is there an easy way to automate this with AppleScript, or through any other sort of means?
A: Here is a simple Applescript that uses the Image Events built into OS X. Add salt to taste.
property kFileList : {}
tell application "Finder"
set theSourceFolder to choose folder
set theDestinationFolder to choose folder
my createList(theSourceFolder)
set lastItem to (count kFileList)
repeat with thisItem from 1 to lastItem
set theFile to (theSourceFolder & item thisItem of kFileList) as string
tell application "Image Events"
set theImage to open theFile
save theImage as JPEG2 in ((theDestinationFolder & item thisItem of kFileList & ".jpg") as string) with compression level high
end tell
end repeat
end tell
on createList(mSource_folder)
set item_list to ""
tell application "System Events"
set item_list to get the name of every disk item of mSource_folder
end tell
set item_count to (get count of items in item_list)
repeat with i from 1 to item_count
set the_properties to ""
set the_item to item i of the item_list
set the_item to ((mSource_folder & the_item) as string) as alias
tell application "System Events"
set file_info to get info for the_item
end tell
if visible of file_info is true then
set file_name to displayed name of file_info
set end of kFileList to file_name
if folder of file_info is true then
my createList(the_item)
end if
end if
end repeat
end createList
Acorn is also good for cheap and easy automation via Applescript that will offer more choices than what Image Events, but Image Events is free so there's that
| {
"language": "en",
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"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: What is a trustworthy 2x4GB RAM for MacBook Pro 15" 2.4Mhz Core i5? I'm looking to upgrade memory from 4GB to 8GB on my MacBook Pro 15" 2.4Mhz Core i5.
I've been looking at Mushkin 8GB RAM on NewEgg, but it's been getting bad reviews lately for not working properly with MacBook Pro Core i7. I'm not sure if it still works OK with Core i5...
Is there a trusted 8GB(2x4) RAM upgrade for MacBook Pro 15" 2.4Mhz Core i5?
A: I’ve always brought memory from OWC with success.
A: I've always had good success with Crucial, but I can't speak to your specific case.
A: As long as this is branded stuff that went through testing, and not some chips that were sorted out / relabeled / rebranded, you usually don't have much issues with RAM these days.
However, RAM issues are still a major source of Macs behaving badly, so the most important thing is to really check it.
No matter where and what you buy, make sure they take the RAM back if "Memtest OS X" fails during an extensive RAM test on your machine.
Now build in your new RAM, and run Memtest OS X (details i.e. at OSXDaily).
The tests will need a couple of hours, and really put your RAM under stress. If all tests are running ok, you are fine, if not, send the RAM back.
| {
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Q: Why am I getting the error "MobileMe does not sync with Microsoft Exchange Server"? I am getting this error message every time a meeting request comes through, but I am not syncing anything with outlook or exchange, so I don't know what to change to get rid of it.
These are my sync settings.
Any idea what's going on here?
A: The Outlook configuration is precisely what matters here. As per the error you got: MobileMe does not sync calendars with Microsoft Outlook when Outlook is configured to use Microsoft Exchange Server.
Calendar syncing takes place via calDAV. The account settings are specifically IMAP.
Unless there are custom profiles or the Outlook PST file is damaged, I'd suggest simply removing the account from Outlook, and signing out on the MobileMe Control Panel, then setting it up fresh.
A: Here is the solution: (Outlook 2007 with Exchange server 2003)
Remove MobileMe from the Outlook COM add-ins
Tools -> Trust Center -> Add-ins
then click on Go to Manage Add-ins
scroll down and disable then remove MobileMe from the list.
| {
"language": "en",
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Q: iPhone accidentally engages FaceTime during call This has happened to me twice recently: I have been on a call when all of a sudden I can hear the other person on loudspeaker, at which point I take the phone away from my face and observe that my face (assumably) has accidentally pressed the FaceTime button.
Is this a known issue and is there a way to prevent this from happening in the future?
A: This is a known issue. Apple addressed it in IOS 4.1 beta 2. Until it gets released, the simplest thing to do is talk using your headset and lock the screen (note that for some reason Apple removed the screen lock functionality without the headset).
| {
"language": "en",
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} |
Q: Safari - Top Sites disappears after another app went rogue A few days ago an app went rogue and leaked memory taking up all 4gb of RAM and more than 8gb of page file space. The result was a machine which was unusable and took about 20 minutes to (eventually) shut down.
After rebooting Safari would not show my "Top Sites", instead showed me a "This page could not be found" (or something similar, I can't remember), would not display the "Top Sites" button on the menu, and the button was not available in the list of buttons to add.
After a reboot this was resolved, but I would still like to know what went wrong.
Does anyone know what could have gone wrong here?
A: I don’t really know the right answer, but I have a guess.
You mention that you use safari on Windows, but you don’t mention the window’s version. In any case, the extreme load your computer had (in terms of RAM/HDD) might have caused a corruption in the Safari’s config and/or cache. Your computer, in an effort (desperate!) to save its information and write to the page file, might have had problems saving all the info before the shutdown actually occurred.
When you returned after the reboot, safari’s settings may have been corrupted preventing the TopSites button to appear.
I don’t know much about Safari’s architecture under Windows, but on OS X if the preferences are corrupted, we simply remove them and the program regenerates them upon first start.
This is just a guess of course.
But remember that your computer was struggling to save its state when you shut it down. You had no RAM and your pagefile was enormous.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/887",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: Do all Safari 5 Extensions work on windows / mac? I wold like to download some safari extensions, but I'm not sure if I should be looking for ones specifically written to run in Windows. Should I be looking for platform specific extensions?
A: Yes, all Safari extensions run equally on Windows and Mac OS, so you do not need to look for platform-specific versions. All Safari extensions (that use the official extension API) are required to be written in pure Javascript, so they will work on all platforms.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/888",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: Can I safely charge my iPhone 4 overnight on a regular basis? First time caller, long time listener: I've seen this question asked on a few other sites but with no "definitive" answers.
The Apple website on iPhone batteries is ambiguous, at best, and the closest it comes to answering the question is saying that a monthly deep cycle is a good idea. (reference)
So, what do you think -- is there an adverse impact from repeated, overnight charging of your iPhone 4? Does this negatively affect battery performance over the long term? Or is there some chip/ software that acts to shut off the charging once the battery is topped off, thereby protecting your hermetically sealed little power source?
A: Each charge 'cycle' is registered within the phone's software (same on a MacBook). If you think your battery is having issue (and is still under warranty), Apple will look at the number of charge cycles on it and make a decision against that.
Here's a pretty interesting, in depth article from 2007 on Apple's take on 'charge cycles':
http://www.macworld.com/article/58916/2007/07/iphonebattery.html
A: All this hype about how to charge your batteries is blown out of proportion.
Although some batteries (I forget which types exactly) can have longer lives if charged at "optimal" rates and temperatures, the reality seems to be that it does not extend the life by much. One of the research papers I read concluded something like if you charge your device at around 17 degrees from 0% until 75% full you can extend the lifespan by about 1/5 of the total life span.
I have charged my devices for days at a time, and my iPod Nano has been plugged in for months, and holds a charge the same as my other nano (I have two) which almost never gets used and only charged ocasionally.
In conclusion, just do whatever is convenient for you.
EDIT: Here are some links to the apple pages related to their iPhone batteries:
*
*Batteries - iPhone
*iPhone Battery Replacement Service: Frequently Asked Questions
A: First of all, iPhone uses lithium-ion batteries, so you should follow the same advice as for the laptop batteries. Look at this and this questions at SuperUser.
The most two damaging things to Li-Ion batteries are deep discharge and heat.
Deep discharge is when you use the device until it shuts down, then wait and attempt to turn it on. That's bad practice - you should stop using the battery and think of charging it as soon as the device turns off for the first time. Deep discharge can severely damage the battery. Similar batteries are used in profesional Bosch power tools like drills and drivers. Obviously battery is a heart of such tool. When you continuosly use a tool its battery can get discarged suddenly and then the tool will shut off - you will be holding the switch pressed but the tool will just stop rotating. The manual says clearly that you shouldn't try to release the switch and press it again to try to restart the tool - according to the manual that can damage the battery.
Heat lowers battery lifetime. Heat comes from leaving the phone under direct sunlight, carrying it in a pocket close to your bode in hot weather, putting it next to a heater and so on.
Obviously you shouldn't do stupid things like piercing, burning, short-curcuiting and dropping the iPhone. All other factors like how often you charge it will have very limited impact on the battery lifetime. Even Bosch power tools manuals don't ever mention anything about how good or bad is charging the batteries often.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/893",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "34"
} |
Q: How can I contact the owner of a lost iPhone who has a password lock? I want to return their phone, but can't access their contacts, etc.
A: Just ask Siri 'what is my name' and it will bring up the contact details for the owner of the phone.
You can also use Siri to post to Facebook, send emails and just abut anything else.
To be fair, upon closer inspection, this seems like a huge gap in the security of an iPhone where you're data isn't actually secure, even when locked. Love it!
Obviously only works if the owner has set their phone to utilise Siri when locked. But I think most people do.
A: If there is a lost and found at the location you found the phone put it there, or turn it over to the police. That is where the person who lost it should be looking for it.
Attempting to break the PIN is just not a good idea, even if you have good intentions. They chose to keep some information confidential (for whatever reason), at the expense of making the phone harder to return if it is lost.
A: *
*Keep it plugged in / charged in case the user is trying to "find my phone" and locate it or send you a contact message.
*The carrier and apple might take your contact information if you don't want to drop it off with them. Apple might be better than the carrier if there is any doubt as to the proper carrier.
*Local police should be alerted - they can provide you with your responsibilities as well as how best to get it returned.
I hope you make the owner very happy.
A: Starting with iOS 6, owners will be able to help you out by sending a number to the phone using the new "Lost" mode:
IOS 6 and iCloud now offer Lost mode, making it even easier to use
Find My iPhone to locate and protect a missing device.6 Immediately
lock your missing iPhone with a four-digit passcode and send it a
message displaying a contact number. That way a good Samaritan can
call you from your Lock screen without accessing the rest of the
information on your iPhone. And while in Lost mode, your device will
keep track of where it’s been and report back to you any time you
check in with the Find My iPhone app.
A: 1) Find the phone number, then find the owner
I think the iPhone is locked but not the SIM card. If this is the case, pop the SIM card out. Put it in another phone. Find the number. Now, use the web to do a reverse lookup, find them, find their email or alternate phone, and call them.
2) Find someone who knows the owner
When you set the password, by default the "Voice Dial" is still active. Try holding down the home button for 4 seconds. Even when locked, you might be able to say "Call so-and-so". Try some random names. If someone picks up, explain the situation. They will probably have an alternate means of contacting the owner.
3) Turn the phone on and see if there are recent callers - then use any of these names to try voice calling as in 2 above.
A: By strange coincidence, this exact thing happened to me, so I have the answer:
Wait until the owner's mother calls. Answer the phone, explain the situation, upon which she will send her husband to collect the phone from your office.* Shake the father's hand, hand over the phone, and make a funny apple joke (he asked me if I had kids, to-whit I responded, no, but I have an iPhone, so I understand! -- fan boys rejoice).
*As it turns out, the owner was a 15 year old boy.
A: You can try a number of things. To build on mankoff's answer:
1)Try taking out the SIM card and checking if there are any contacts on it. If the iPhone was not the first phone used with that SIM, it may have stored contacts on it.
2)Try "Call home".
Also, I remember seeing this article a while back, I wonder if it still works with iPhone 4: Read iPhone Data with Ubuntu
Edit (Direct Quote):
Do you have a PIN code on your iPhone?
Well, while that might protect you
from someone making a call or fiddling
with your apps, it doesn’t prevent
access to your data … as long as the
person doing the snooping around is
using Ubuntu “Lucid Lynx” 10.04.
Security experts Bernd Marienfeldt and
Jim Herbeck discovered something
really interesting when they hooked up
a non-jailbroken, fully up-to-date
iPhone 3GS to a PC running Lucid Lynx
…
I uncovered a data protection
vulnerability [9], which I could
reproduce on 3 other non jail broken
3GS iPhones (MC 131B, MC132B) with
different iPhone OS versions installed
(3.1.3-7E18 modem firmware 05.12.01
and version 3.1.2 -7D11, modem
05.11.07) , all PIN code protected which means the vulnerability bypasses
authentication for various data where
people most likely rely on data
protection through encryption and do
not expect that authentication is not
in place.
This is what you get via an auto mount
without any PIN request:
This data protection flaw exposes
music, photos, videos, podcasts, voice
recordings, Google safe browsing
database, game contents… by in my
opinion the quickest compromising
read/write access discovered so far,
without leaving any track record by
the attacker. It’s about to imagine
how many enterprises (e.g. Fortune
100) actually do rely on the
expectation that their iPhone 3GS’s
whole content is protected by
encryption with an PIN code based
authentication in place to unlock it.
This, quite honestly, is a staggering
flaw. It basically allows anyone
capable of driving a Linux PC to copy
data off of an iPhone without the
owner of the phone having any idea
whatsoever that this has happened.
What’s more worrying is that
Marienfeldt and Herbeck think that
write access to the iPhone is only a
buffer overflow away, which means
serious access.
Lastly, an Apple store would have the serial number linked to an iPhone, as Philip Reagan suggested.
A: Take it to the Apple store and see if they can sort it out. I would imagine that they have DB of serial numbers and customers even if they didn't sign up with Applecare or MobileMe.
A: You can use Siri to call some of the contacts.
You probably know no names in his/her contacts list so you should ask Siri:
*
*to call Home
*to call my Mother/father
*to give me the directions to home
*what is my name
*who is my sister/brother.
When you ask Siri about contacts, it would bring up ALL the contacts information that is entered in the iphone/icloud.
So if the iphone is connected to wifi/3g/4g and siri is enabled, you have access to the owner's identity(home, relative names, other phone numbers, addresses).
If the wifi and 3g is turned off, you would have some hard time dealing with it.
A: I'm trying a different tactic. I wrote a note telling them to call the phone or call my number and I took a picture of it with their phone. Hopefully it will upload to Photo Stream. It looks like 3G is on but I'm not sure if it will only upload over wifi. Oh, well. It's worth a shot...
A: Just wait for the owner to call once they realize they lost it. Just found an iPhone on the way home and as I was searching for 'How to find an owner of a locked iPhone', it rang. The owners wife, Viola'! Set up a meeting and hope someone will do the same for me someday.
A: plug the phone into iTunes to get data like the name or other identifiers!!
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/901",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "24"
} |
Q: Can I run multiple instances of Skype on one computer? I am a heavy Skype user - I use it for work and to communicate with friends. Little by little my contact list grew to almost 800 people. It's really difficult to handle my contacts and put them in different lists. Searching for contacts is also not intuitive and easy task - people like to use strange usernames for Skype.
I need to divide my contacts and use two instances of Skype - for business and personal use. Do you know a way I can do that and stay online in both accounts at the same time?
A: multiple copies of Skype can only run under separate user accounts, making for some unfortunate but not critical overhead. create another user account on your Mac, either business or personal. then from the other one, open Terminal and do:
$ su - [your other username]
$ /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/MacOS/Skype &
after which you can close the terminal.
edit: after running this after a bit, i should note that you will run into fun issues like separate clipboards, links opening in separate browsers, and possibly other multi-user issues which i havent run into yet.
A: You can certainly launch multiple instances of the application. I assume there won't be a problem with logging into the remote service twice from one computer, though I haven't tested that part.
To launch a second instance of any application, regardless of whether it is currently running, open the terminal and type:
/Path/To/Application.app/Contents/MacOS/Application &
(more detail here)
In your case, type this exactly:
/Applications/Skype.app/Contents/MacOS/Skype &
A: This simple application can help you:
http://holodnyalex.github.com/SkypeLauncher
It just runs Skype as root.
A: Here's a viable solution. Tested on Mac OS X 10.8.2, seems to work.
http://community.skype.com/t5/Mac/How-to-create-two-instances-of-Skype-on-the-Desktop/m-p/1626/highlight/true#M38
http://horizonsplit.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/running-2-and-more-skype-instances-on-mac-os-x-simultaneously/ (just a copy for the sake of redundancy)
A: If you only want to run a second instance of Skype, you can do this on the same OS X account with a little bash script:
#!/bin/bash
rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Skype/Skype.pid
sleep 1
open -n "/Applications/Skype.app"
https://gist.github.com/Strayer/4dd565cc4b5db72b9363
A: Is it possible to copy Skype.app to PersonalSkype.app and then running both ?
I have tried this with VLC (one version was 32bit and other was 64bit+older version), and they worked fine.
A: Although duplicating your copy of skype will certainly run two copies (or more), both will use the same properties and will share a lot of things, therefore creating possible chaos.
If it helps, you can create groups in skype and drag contacts to the groups. I have separated people I know, business and strangers from games or people I don’t know.
Skype’s service is really good, but their application is far from good and intuitive.
A: If you don't want to mess around with "su" and the command line, try Peek-o-Matic, designed for this type of generic situation, but it appears from the developer comments that it is heavily used by Skype users wanting multiple instances just as you do.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "8"
} |
Q: How can I stop com.apple.launched from attempting to start a service we uninstalled? My office used to use JungleDisk Workgroup service to exchange large files. We've moved on to a new solution and I uninstalled the client according to their instructions, but I noticed today in the Console that com.apple.launchd is trying to start JungleDisk every 10 seconds. It fails, but I can't help but think this is causing some performance issues.
Where/how do I remove a background service launch?
8/31/10 7:47:03 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.jungledisk.workgroupservice[4172]) Exited with exit code: 1
8/31/10 7:47:03 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.jungledisk.workgroupservice) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
8/31/10 7:47:13 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.jungledisk.workgroupservice[4173]) posix_spawnp("/Applications/Jungle Disk Workgroup.app/Contents/Jungle Disk Workgroup/Jungle Disk Workgroup.app/Contents/MacOS/Jungle Disk Workgroup", ...): No such file or directory
A: If you want to use a software, you can try Lingon.
It allows you to manage (create, edit, delete) all the launchd items on your system.
Otherwise, if you want to go by hand, look inside the following folders :
*
*/Library/LaunchAgents
*/Library/LaunchDaemons
*~/Library/LaunchAgents
A: The manual method (Lingon in Studer's question is a great GUI for this) is to unload the job from launchd:
Run sudo launchctl stop com.jungledisk.workgroupservice to tell launchd to stop running the job but it's important to note the job will just come back the next time you restart. You can then try and track down the file in /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons or ~/Library/LaunchAgents - if you delete the file it won't load the next time you restart the computer. If you run sudo launchctl unload /PATH/TO/com.jungledisk.workgroupservice.plist this will unload the job and then you can delete the file since you don't require it anymore.
| {
"language": "en",
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} |
Q: Push notifications work everywhere but my home network I have an 2G (MC Model) 8GB iPod Touch on iOS 4.0 that has a strange issue. Push notifications used to work just fine, but for the past month or two, I don't get any notifications while I'm on my home wifi network. If I connect my iPod to any other wifi network (open private, public hotspot, etc), I get flooded with all the past notifications. I have tried restoring my iPod numerous times, tried downgrading to 3.1.2, tried different combinations of DNS servers (as mentioned on the net), but nothing works. Any ideas on how to go about getting push to work when I'm at home?
A: Your push-port (5223) could've been closed. Try to open it in the router-interface.
A: What has changed since the push notifications stopped working?
Sounds like the connection state is being dropped by your home router, either because of a timeout or the connection table is overflowing; most of these embedded routers don't have much memory in them for state info.
What is your access point/router/firewall? Is it running a custom firmware, and/or have you modified any settings, like connection timeouts? Some open-source firewalls and router firmwares have options for tweaking the connection timeouts.
Are you using BitTorrent or any other high-connection-count protocols? If so, what happens if you stop using them for a day or so?
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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"question_score": "0"
} |
Q: Adding a Second IP Address to an Existing Network Adapter On linux boxes it is possible to add multiple ip addresses to the same network interface.
It's achived with the following command:
ip addr add 128.133.123.83/24 dev eth0
Is there any way to to the same with OS X ?
I've tried to put multiple ip addresses (comma separated like the dns) in System Preferences / Network with no luck...
A: Yeah, it's pretty easy. Open System Preferences, go to Networking, then click the Plus sign under the left bar. Choose the interface, give a name to the adapter configuration you're creating, then press OK. You will have to provide manual configuration of IP address and DNS for the second entry -- DHCP won't work for it, because it shares the same MAC address as the original entry, so the router won't issue it another address. Click Apply when you're done, and enjoy. Your adapter now has two IP addresses.
A: sudo ifconfig en0 alias 128.133.123.83/24 up
and to remove...
sudo ifconfig en0 -alias 128.133.123.83
A: .. and to remove the alias added in brabic's answer
sudo ifconfig en0 -alias 128.133.123.83
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "21"
} |
Q: What's the best server/client combo to remote into your Mac (10.6) from a windows machine? I have a Mac OS X 10.6 computer at home, which I like to remote into from my work laptop from time to time. I've tried using RealVNC and UltraVNC with the built-in VNC client, but I can't get them to accept the adaptive compression, so I can either do
*
*8-bit color that is low bandwidth
*Full color that takes up too much bandwidth for my home's upload speed
Is there a VNC client that supports the adaptive compression on the built-in vnc server for Mac OS X? Some other things I have tried are
*
*Using custom VNC server (Vine Server) to get higher color with acceptable bandwith
*Logmein.com - which seems to have it's own adaptive compression, but is only free for use w/one computer
A: You could try TeamViewer.
Like Logmein.com, it is a full software and one based one Mac OS X vnc.
By the way, it also works from an iPad or an iPhone or from a web browser under Windows.
A: perhaps see what http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ can do for you? i'm running it to share out a single monitor out of three, to vnc clients on other platforms that don't support apple's monitor selection extensions or whatever it's called to make that work in mac-to-mac Screen Sharing.
A: Here's one I haven't tried, but Leo Laporte loves: GoToMyPC.
If you're going to try it, be sure to get a discount coupon somewhere.
And here's a good place to look for alternatives.
A: Here is the software we use in our company (Windows): Radmin
Highly recommend. Not sure they have MAC version but my colleagues say they used it on MAC.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "4"
} |
Q: Is there an OS X equivalent to iOS's Remote App? Is there some equivalent to Apple's (iOS) Remote App for the desktop (running OS X)? I.e. some – preferably small – application to control an iTunes instance which is running on another Mac? Maybe some menu extra?
I know there are several "iTunes controllers" (like Coversutra). But does any of them support a remotely running iTunes?
(N.B.: I'm aware of e.g. Home Sharing, but I want the remote Mac to keep running and output the music, not the controlling one. I'm also aware of Screen Sharing, but I'm looking for a quicker/easier solution.)
A: iTunes Remote Control is probably the easiest, but is no longer updated, and I've heard reports of some issues with it under Snow Leopard. YMMV.
Edit: One other major option would be to control iTunes from your browser. A variety of commercial and free solutions exist to do this. This is one of the more popular DIY guides on the subject. Playerpal and PatioTunes are two examples of commercial variants on the idea. N.B., I've used neither, and can't speak to the quality of either app. Feel free to google around for more options on this front.
A: You could SSH to your desktop running iTunes and control it using this iTunes control script.
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20011108211802830
Alternatively you could connect using any VNC client to have total control of your desktop.
A: Play can control iTunes (and do a bit more) from a variety of clients.
A: TuneConnect might be another option, it's no longer actively maintained though (so compatibility with newer versions of OS X/iTunes might be an issue):
The TuneConnect Project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of TuneConnect 2.0, the latest reinvention of our revolutionary iTunes remote control software for Mac OS X. Featuring speed-of-light music browsing and full-featured controls, TuneConnect 2 is a complete rewrite of the old TuneConnect. Control your music simply, quickly, and easily, from anywhere on your network: welcome to life with TuneConnect.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/921",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "19"
} |
Q: iTunes album cover is not the correct cover for that album My iTunes shows the wrong cover image for a handful of albums. How can I correct this?
A: You can look for covers yourself (i.e. on Amazon or w/ Google Image Search) and copy & paste them in the "Get Info" dialog (select all songs of an album, press Cmd-I, paste the image into the "Artwork" area).
There are tools like CoverScout which automate these tasks which is feasible if you have a large music library w/ lots of broken covers.
A: Sometimes iTunes thinks the CD tracks you have are for a different album (happens more for lesser known CD's.)
An option you could use is to find the Album art online and then manually insert them as the Album art.
The way to do that in iTunes:
*
*Right Click the song you want
*Select Get Info
*Click the Album art tab
*Add and select your album art
Note: Can do this for an entire CD by selecting all the songs and then changing the Artwork section under the info tab
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "4"
} |
Q: OS X Server 10.6 and Fully Qualified Domain Names From the Advanced Server Admin for OS X Server v.10.6:
You must have a fully qualified domain
name for each server’s IP addess in
the DNS system. The DNS zone must have
the reverse-lookup record for the name
and address pair. Not having a stable,
functioning DNS system with reverse
lookup leads to service failures and
unexpected behaviors.
I was recently bit by this requirement as my internal network doesn't have an internal DNS server. As a result, various applications and services (User Management in particular), hosted on my XServe have experienced degraded performance. My question is, besides deploying my own DNS server (dnsmasq or bind9) is there any other way to provide a FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) for my X Serve?
UPDATE
Used the X Serve as its own DNS host, worked like a charm with very little configuration.
A: No, the only way to get a FQDN is by using a DNS server, either external to your Xserve or run on the Xserve itself. It's recommended with setting up Mac OS X to set up DNS first before anything else.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/934",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: External SATA PM (Port Multiplier) Enclosure w/ Mac Mini I'd love to use one of the new Mac Mini Server models as a backup server, but need a lot more space.
Has anybody tried attaching a port multiplied eSATA enclosure to the Mini? This is the one I'd really like to work: http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-5pm/
I've read a few things that imply that the system controller in the Mac Mini supports it.
A: No, the SATA the Mac Mini does not support port multipliers. Technically the MCP79 in it can support port multipliers, but either the driver or the firmware does not enable it.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/940",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: The bottom of my iPhone won't accept touches. Can I fix that? My iPhone (1st Gen) is no longer able to recognize when I touch it at the very bottom of the screen. The only way this effects me is when I have the keyboard up I cant hit the 123, spacebar, or send.
Is there some way I can fix this? I've tried restoring but that didn't do the trick. Is this something that I can take in and have fixed?
A: Turns the phone upside down and hope that the app you are using supports that orientation :)
A: Off to the Genius Bar with you. Though I'm willing to bet they'll probably just recommend you get a new phone.
A: They might do 1G here. Worked great when I busted my 3GS screen.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/942",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "0"
} |
Q: Time Machine backup .sparsebundle file inaccessible on new computer I've been at this for a solid 6 hours now, hoping like heck someone here can help me.
I've had a Time Capsule for nearly 2 years, consistently backing up two different laptops in my home using Time Machine. A MacBook and a MacBook Pro.
Last night, my MacBook Pro up and died. I was working on it when everything froze up and shut down, and it won't boot now. All indicators are that the logic board went. Whatever, **** happens. Sucks, but not entirely a loss because of my incremental backups, right?
Wrong.
Brought my work laptop (another Macbook Pro) home this evening to open up my Time Machine backups and retrieve any files that I needed or wanted to keep going forward. Or so I thought.
When I connect to the drive, I can see two .sparsebundle files, one from the Macbook, and one from the Macbook Pro. In the past, I've been able to mount these as disks and manually sort through them without having to resort to the slow Star Wars interface of Time Machine.
The .sparsebundle for the MacBook works exactly as advertised. The .sparsebundle for the Macbook Pro? Not at all. Double-clicking it gives the error "No mountable file systems." Disk Utility (pictured below) has it greyed out and refuses to run any Verify or Repair procedures on it. I've tried the Googles, gone through countless discussion threads in Apple's support site as well as other popular Mac tech sites, resorted to Terminal hdiutil mount -readwrite style hacking, all to no avail. As far as I can tell from the research I've done, what may have happened is that my MacBook Pro was in the middle of a Time Machine backup at the very second it went kaput, which seems to have locked the .sparsebundle into some kind of hyper-militant read-only state from whence not even light can escape.
The message in the window pictured below comes up immediately after I click "Repair disk", though the candybar progress stripe keeps spinning and spinning indefinitely.
I've got no ideas left. Extra sloppy-kisses may be provided as incentive if anyone can help me through this. I'm one step away from introducing the Time Capsule to the business end of the 12 lb. sledgehammer sitting in my toolshed at this point.
A: Have a look here and try doing what he does (I know the problem is different).
The key came from a comment buried down near the bottom of the page. Running fsck kept getting clobbered with a "Disk In Use" error, but this solved it:
FWIW, I found that even with -noautofsck, snow leopard would auto-fsck, meaning I would get ‘resource busy’ or whatever. I have no idea why it is ignoring my no-auto-fsck request. Whatever.To allow the process to go, I ‘ps auxwww | grep fsck’ to find the PID, then ‘sudo kill (PID)’ to kill this fsck so I can run my own.
Killing the auto-fsck allowed me to run it myself. Not sure how long it took, I started it at 2am and it was done by the time I got up 6 hours later, but it was on a 500+ GB .sparsebundle, so I'm assuming it took a while.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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"question_score": "11"
} |
Q: CD doesn't eject I have a problem with ejecting a CD. It happened twice in the past few days, CD drive disappears from the list of devices in a Finder and I can't eject a CD that sits inside my laptop. I tried Disk Utility it sees the drive, but the eject option is grayed out. Typing "drutil tray eject" in Terminal also doesn't produce any effect.
A: The first thing to try in these cases is to restart the computer and hold down your Eject key or Mouse/trackpad button while it's starting up.
If that doesn't work, try Resetting the SMC on an Intel based mac, or a PMU reset on an older PowerPC machine, then try again.
If that fails, you'll want to bring the machine into an Authorized Service Center if it's under warranty, or look into less orthodox solutions if not.
A: I had a similar solution to TrentEllingsen. My CD drive would not relinquish this stuck CD. Not with a terminal command or eject button or what have you.
I eventually decided to go about it manually. First I tried using a card to leverage the CD enough so that "drutil eject" would work but after several tries it was obvious it wouldn't. So I rubbed on some elbow grease and grabbed another card. I slid one under the CD and the other on top. Then, like using a pair of card-nosed pliers, I pinched tight, pulled gently, and out came the CD... with protective slip attached! That was the last time I let my girlfriend burn anything on my mac.
A: I had a similar problem with a macbook that wasn't able to start up and I wanted to put in the reformatting disk in to try and fix it but had a stuck CD.
I tried holding the eject, mouse button, holding multiple buttons at the same time, tilting it.. What actually worked was a suggestion I found that using step 3 from here
I just stuck a borders gift card into the slot and then gently
pushed it down on the rotating CD (scary sound).
It stopped spinning and soon ejected!
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: Is there a use for my old iPhone? I upgraded to the iPhone 3G 2 years ago from the first iPhone and will (hopefully) get the iPhone 4 at some point. I was thinking of just using my old one like an iPod Touch or just keep in my speakers for music. I also considered jailbreaking (maybe it would help me get better with programming?) or reselling it as well.
What do you recommend I do with it?
A: You could:
*
*Sell it: Gazelle is a good place to sell old gadgets.
*Use it as a regular iPod Touch (I gave my old iPhone to my teen to watch iTunes U videos for school).
*Jailbreak it.
*Test Custom Apps
*Turn it into a neat personal project (remote control cars/planes, house automation). Blog about it too.
*Donate it
*Replace your car stereo (this one is fun).
*Make it your portable DVR; load it with your favorite shows and watch them when you have time (I know you can do this with you new iPhone, but it'll save on battery life if you use a second device).
*High tech alarm clock (I know, that one's silly).
Sorry if I repeated any suggestions. I was doing a quick brainstorm. It's fun finding new ways to use old gadgets. Good luck and let us know what you do.
A: Donate it to someone who needs it.
*
*African People
*African wildlife
*Soldiers
Or, do what you planned... Use it as a music player / remote / toy.
A: If you are a developer than certainly keep it as a device to test iOS apps on.
I have kept mine because of course apps will run relatively quickly on my iPhone 4, so I test on my iPhone 3G to see how about half of my users will experience my app.
A: If you're in the UK, O2 pay a reasonable price for old iPhones - they have a 'Recycle' page on their website (try O2 Recycle). We used it recently to get something back for a 16Gb 3GS and an 8Gb 3G - they were both still boxed, in great condition, and we got about £350 for them.
The prices vary from day to day, and they may make an adjustment based on their evaluation of the phone once they get it, but the service is pretty quick and we had a cheque back from them within a week of sending them off.
A: You can also use it as a Remote for iTunes or a “joystick” for x-plane with X-Plane Remote ;)
A: The development answer posted above - I wouldn't keep iphone 3G for testing simply because there will be no 3G users left - most will have transferred to iPhone 4 or 3GS.
I was doing some research and I found that 3G market share was 20% - and that was before iPhone 4 was introduced. Considering that a lot of people with 3G will upgrade to iPhone 4, I can see 3G install base drop. On the other hand a lot of people are selling 3G phones...so they can be snapped up by non-iphone users very quickly.
| {
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} |
Q: How can I restrict Mac sharing services to a specific network/adapter? I want is to set up a Mac to connect to multiple networks. So far, so good. However, I only want to grant AFP access to users on ONE of the networks, but not the other. How can I accomplish this on (non-server) Mac OS X?
This is probably an issue that comes up quite a bit in IT - you want to use the same machine as a world-facing web server and as an internal AFP (or whatever) server, but I haven't really been able to find a way to do it.
A: You can do this using the builtin ipfw firewall (it is not the default firewall in Snow Leopard, but it is still included). You can configure from the command line, the exact rule set you need depends on your other requirements, but the specific rule in question would be something like:
# allow AFP (port 548) traffic from 10net
/sbin/ipfw add allow tcp from 10.0.0/24 to any 548
# deny all other AFP traffic
ipfw add deny tcp from any to any 548
Obviously you will need to adjust that for your specific network. Also, these rules are not persistent, which means you will need to add a script to run them commands every reboot. On the other hand, that means that if you wedge your networking while trying to come up with appropriate rules you can always just reboot to reset the stack. There are plenty of ipfw tutorials on the web (most of them are aimed at FreeBSD users, but it is the same interface).
| {
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Q: How to stop Safari from unzipping files after download Safari unzips .zip and .gz files after downloading. How can I stop this behavior?
A: In the menu bar, go Safari -> Preferences. In the "General" tab, uncheck "Open 'safe' files after downloading". This will stop Safari from automatically unzipping the files.
A: Just hold the ⌥ alt button while clicking on the download links.
Tested on OS X Mavericks, Big Sur, Monterey. Still works in October 2022.
A: In Preferences, at the bottom of the General tab, uncheck the "Open "safe" files after downloading" check box.
A: Check out this article if you want to keep the "Safe Downloads" behavior but tweak it a little.
| {
"language": "en",
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"question_score": "55"
} |
Q: Making an inactive mailbox active I made one of my mailboxes inactive. How do I make it active again?
A: Under Preferences, Accounts, click on the account and then the "Advanced" tab. There will be a check box next to "Enable this account."
| {
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} |
Q: Why am I having this problem importing photos from iPhone to iPhoto? I'm getting the error
Error downloading image.
iPhoto cannot import your photos because there was a problem downloading an image.
when I "Import All..." from my iPhone. Trying to import individual images I get
The following file cannot be imported. (The file is in an unrecognized format.)
IMG_0301.JPG
In the past I've been able to do this, so I don't know why I'm getting grief now. Anyone have any suggestions?
To help describe the problem I've created a screencast: http://screenr.com/CLr
A: I seem to have resolved the issue by connecting my iPhone 4 directly into my MacBook as opposed to using a USB hub which I connect everything to.
edit: I also found this to be the case after a long term problem with importing photos/films from my iPhone 5; it was intermittent and buggy, but I was using a simple USB extension cord from behind my computer and eventually removing; because of this, this answer solved the entire issue.
A: May be you can try using http://ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/ Phone view to get the image copied over to your Mac, and check if the file is corrupted.
A: Surprising enough, after spending two hours crunching Google to find an answer, and restarting my phone (Home + Power key), the only solution was to restart my Mac. It solved everything magically (both Picasa and all other softwares)
A: It's hard to tell which of two things is the real issue:
*
*The Phone has some corrupt pictures.
*The databases on your Mac used to track which pictures are imported are corrupt / iPhoto is corrupt.
You can rule out #2 by taking the phone to another mac (or at least make another user on the same mac to try an import from a clean slate).
As has been mentioned before - if the pictures are corrupt on the iOS device, you will have to spring for PhoneView and perhaps a tool like Data Rescue to see if the photos are salvageable. Often JPEG headers and such are bad and the image data is fine or patchable with little or no visual evidence of the corruption.
Also - it could be a combination of both #1 and #2 which is why some work under PhoneView and others don't. Lastly - you could try restoring that backup onto another iOS device and importing the photos from there. It would rule out a problem with the phone which is highly less likely than the other two items listed above.
A: One item not yet mentioned is that your hard drive could be full. I was getting this error until I made some space.
A: +1 for Phoneview for being a great app, but I understand not wanting to buy an app.
As an alternative, you should look at this fee app, it seems like it will do what you need.
http://www.macroplant.com/iphoneexplorer/
Your best bet is probably going to be to get all the photos off of the iPhone you want/need by dragging them to your desktop/folder. Then import them into iPhoto.
Then do a backup of your phone in iTunes. I'd wipe the iPhone and re-install iOS via iTunes. Then once the operating system has been installed, iTunes will ask if you want to restore your backup.
If there is an issue with your photos/data then this may not help. However, if there is an issue with the underlying iOS then this may fix things for you.
A: I have read in Apple's Support Forums that the Image Capture app (which is included on OSX, in the Utilities folder) will import these "corrupted" photos okay while iPhoto will not.
Like others, I'm still waiting a permanent solution (even an acknowledgement) from Apple.
A: *
*Close iPhoto make sure their isn't a white light appearing under the icon.
*Go to your pictures folder and drag the iPhoto library icon onto your desktop.
*Open up iPhoto and click on create new library.
*Once it opens, move it so you can see the iPhoto library icon on your desktop.
*Right-click on the iPhoto icon and click on 'Show Package Contents.'
*Drag the files Library.iPhoto and Library6.iPhoto onto iPhoto.
It should be working after that.
A: I've found iPhoto can be picky when it comes to things like color formats. For example, iPhoto returned the same error when I tried importing an image that was in Grayscale. I had to convert it to RGB first before iPhoto would import it. I've read elsewhere that iPhoto can also be picky about layers.
A: Update! update! update!
Make sure both your iPhone and Mac are on the latest versions of OS X (10.6.8) and iOS (4.3.3). Also, (if it's possible) upgrade to iLife '11.
If that doesn't fix your problem, try backing up (through iTunes) and restoring your iPhone. Also, try using photo syncing (through iTunes) instead of manually copying over the photos.
A: There's a problem importing photos from the iPhone (4S) to iPhoto; some photos are getting corrupted during the import process. It appears to be well-documented here.
A: Hmmm... I tried some of the suggested solutions here and ultimately I decided to simply free up my hard drive a litte bit. So, I deleted some old photos and movies and voilà --- no more error message. :)
A: Do you really need IMG_0301.JPG ?
If not you could try clicking 'Delete' instead of 'Keep' to empty the library and hopefully get rid of IMG_0301.JPG and then sync the photos back to the phone if required.
A: Try Disk Utility to check/repair permissions on the volume holding the iTunes library.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "24"
} |
Q: Access iPhoto photos? If you want to upload a photo to a website from iPhoto, is there a simple way that you can access it, without having to export it from iPhoto first. When I navigate to the iPhoto folder, it just appears as an empty folder.
A: You can reveal a particular photo by control-clicking it within iPhoto, and selecting the "Show File" menu item in the contextual menu that pops up. That will reveal the actual image file for that photo in the Finder. I highly recommend not moving that file anywhere, since that will cause iPhoto to lose track of it, but you can copy it to another folder, attach to an e-mail, upload to a website, etc.
A: Starting with Leopard, you can use the media browser that is integrated with the Finder. Look at the bottom of the Finder's sidebar.
Explanation from Macword: Usage tips for the Leopard media browser
More details and nice screenshots in this InDesign-centric (but still applicable) explanation: Using the Mac OS Media Browser in InDesign
A: If you navigate to your iPhoto Library, Right Click and then select Show Package Contents you will be able to browse your library and select photos as normal.
This option won't be available from a website upload dialog box so you will have to copy photos out of there to somewhere convenient beforehand.
A: Instead of exporting you can drag the photo from iPhoto onto your Desktop, or another folder.
What site do you want to upload to? There are exporter plugins for a few websites.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: How to best move / import my previously received email from Outlook Express into Mail.app? This is a question often asked by switchers (Windows PC -> Mac)
A: On the Windows
Download Eudora for Windows and install it if it's not already on your computer. Eudora can be used for free in sponsored or light mode.
If you see the New Account Wizard when you open Eudora, click Cancel. Go to the File menu and choose Import. It should automatically detect any Outlook or Outlook Express accounts.
*
*Check the box next to the account(s) you wish to import.
*If present, check the boxes next to Import Mail and Import Address Book Entries.
*Click OK.
Your Outlook or Outlook Express mailboxes should now appear in Eudora's mailbox list. Close Eudora. If prompted to save changes to the Address Book, click Yes.
Locate the newly created Eudora mailboxes and address book so they can be transferred to the Macintosh.
*
*Use the Search or Find option in the Start menu to locate "Outlook Express.fol" or "Microsoft Outlook.fol" (depending on which program you are importing from). You may need select Search hidden files and folders under More advanced options.
*Right-click the .fol folder in the search results and choose Open Containing Folder.
*Transfer the .fol folder and the folders called "attach", "Embedded", and "Nickname" (all in the same location) to the Mac (e.g., via recordable CD, USB flash memory drive).
On the Mac
Download Eudora Mailbox Cleaner.
*
*To properly import all messages, attachments, and address book entries, the files copied from the Windows computer must be arranged in a specific manner.
*Create a new folder and call it "Eudora Folder". The Desktop is a good place to create the folder.
*Inside this folder, create three more folders named "Mail Folder", "Attachments Folder", and "Parts Folder".
*Move the "Microsoft Outlook.fol" or "Outlook Express.fol" folder into the "Mail Folder".
*Move the contents of the "attach" folder into "Attachments Folder".
*Move the contents of the "Embedded" folder into "Parts Folder".
*Move the "Nickname" folder into "Eudora Folder".
*Make sure Mail.app is not running, then drag the "Eudora Folder" and drop it on the Eudora Mailbox Cleaner icon.
*Leave all the boxes checked and click OK. (Filters will not be imported because Eudora cannot import the original filters from Outlook or Outlook Express.)
Eudora Mailbox Cleaner will display the results of the import. If the import was successful, the number of imported messages, recovered attachments, and imported nicknames should all be greater than zero.
Your messages should now appear in Mail.app in a folder called Import. Address book entries should appear in the OS X Address Book application.
NOTE: If you are unable to open the imported files, you may need to rebuild them. Select each folder, then go to Mailbox > Rebuild.
| {
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Q: iMovie on iPhone 4 : How to separate audio How can I separate the audio from an existing video file on iPhone programatically?
A: iMovie for iPhone 4 does not offer the ability to separate the audio from the video of a movie. It only allows one track of audio - either a background song or the audio from the clip you're using. If you click and hold on a clip it brings up the Clip Settings view where you can turn off the audio for the clip.
iMovie for iPhone 4 doesn't allow you to do anything programatically. If you're wanting to develop something with the iOS SDK to pull the audio from a movie I suggest editing your question and reading up on what you can do with AVFoundation
| {
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Q: What parts can you scavenge from a nearly 3 year old MacBook Pro? I have an early 2008 model MacBook Pro (17") that went the way of all the earth a couple of days ago. I haven't diagnosed it fully yet, but it appears that it's the logic board that's gone, and if that truly is the case it's not worth it to spend the money to repair a nearly 3 year old machine (and no, I didn't have AppleCare because, apparently, I'm an idiot).
The question is this: besides the easily-removable RAM chips, what other parts could conceivably be scavenged from it and be realistically useful elsewhere? I haven't disassembled one of these before, I'm wondering how easily the hard drive could be removed and placed in an enclosure, for example (a zapped logic board should, theoretically, leave the HD data intact).
Any other bits you'd keep before sending it to the great recycling depot in the sky?
A: The memory and the hard drive are probably the easiest to remove and reuse. But there are plenty of parts that could be re-used including the keyboard, the display, optical drive and airport.
The site ifixit has a great guide to disassembling MacBook Pro machines.
If you do not have a need for the parts yourself, you may be able to sell them on eBay or elsewhere. I am not sure what the market is like for individual parts, but another option is to sell the machine as a whole on eBay stating that it is non-functioning and for parts. It would save you the trouble of disassembling it yourself.
A: Depending on your level of confidence disassembling machines, you may want to look into buying up a similar model with a cracked screen on eBay or Craigslist. You can often get a 'junk' machine of that sort that works perfectly but has a broken display for 100 bucks or even less. Replace the display with the screen from your MacBook, and you can flip it for 3-8 times that, depending on the specific specs and condition of the machine.
Beyond that, the Hard Drive should be easily removable and reusable in a variety of other environments. Most other parts will not be broadly useful outside of other MBP's.
A: I wouldn't be so pessimistic if i were you:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/661-4964-MacBook-Pro-17-08-Model-2-6-GHz-Logic-Board-/160562715302?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2562489aa6#ht_1145wt_1047
Just find a qualified technician to do the repair. In any case it might be something more complex than the logic board, and my experience with apple service providers is that they usually shoot for the logic board without doing any real diagnostic. But YMMV
| {
"language": "en",
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"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: Remote Desktop for Mac OS X Is there any remote desktop solution for Mac? I don't mean a VNC where one can only manage the computer using the logged user on the computer. I want to be able to use my Mac at home using GUI with my account while my wife accesses the computer locally using her account.
Is it possible?
A: Mac OS X does not support multiple GUI sessions by itself. There are a couple options however - you can try Vine Server which requires some setup ahead of time (fast user switching on, you have to be logged on with a copy of Vine Server running).
The more robust alternative is a product called AquaConnect Terminal Server which provides services like Terminal Server but requires Mac OS X Server to run.
A: Not sure if this helps but there "might" be away if X11 is turned on on the Mac as any unix/linux os disto would usually work. would need some unconventional setup though. Oh and you probably would not get the same OS X desktop presented when connected via X11. Just throwing out and idea...my apologies if this misses the mark.(i would know how to setup multiple sessions on unix/linux but never done it with mac)
A: www.logmein.com
but I'm afraid to use multiple GUI same time you need Mac OS X server:)
| {
"language": "en",
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"question_score": "9"
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Q: Good resources for those transitioning to Mac OS X from Windows I'm going to be getting a new MacBook laptop as part of the PhD programme I've just started, but have never used Macs before in my life. I'm quite an advanced computer user (running an informal computer repair business for Windows PCs), but I can see that I might just get frustrated with it at first as I don't know some of the standard OS X ways of doing things.
Does anyone have suggestions for resources that could teach me these standard ways of doing things, or any other guides to someone transitioning from Windows?
A: Apple - Mac Basic Tutorials
Apple has made a lot of videos on how to get started and more indepth guides.
Among the tutorials there is a PC to Mac tutorial.
A: Apple's guide to switching is located here.
A: Mac OS X Hints (run by Macworld)
A: IMHO:
Here is your future:
You can read tutorials, watch videos what previous posters provide you. They are very good! but...
As advance user, prepare for hell during 1-2 weeks switching period.;)
Try to play with your new system yourself, (for sure not as root:) )
But after that I'm sure you will never return back to the windows:)
Have fun!
A: Apple has retired a lot of the links posted in other answers. Here are some that work today:
*
*Mac tips for Windows switchers
*Mac keyboard shortcuts
| {
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Q: Is there a way to power up a Mac Mini remotely? Is there ANY way to Power Up a Mac Mini remotely?
Just to be clear, I don´t mean wake up from sleep but boot up.
A: Depending on how your Mac Mini is connected to the internet (wifi, ethernet, firewall, age of the machine, NAT, …) it should be possible to do it using Wake On LAN.
You could, for example, use a GUI software like WakeOnLan.
A: Not sure what you're trying to accomplish, but it's also possible to use the Energy Saver preference pane to schedule the machine to startup at a set time.
A: As you describe it, no.
You could, however, get another computer or network-controlled device with the ability to cut off/restore power to a device, and remotely operate that (I'll try to find such a controller and link it here in a minute). Then just set your mac-mini to auto-boot after a power failure.
Edit: example- http://www.42u.com/dataprobe_iboot_remote_reboot.htm
A: As a workaround you can set, in the energy settings a scheduled time for the remote computer to start. At least if others have powered down the computer you know it will power up everyday on its own i.e. 6:00AM
I am setting up a remote MAC in the Philippines and others may power down instead of log off so I know if for example I set it to start everyday at 9:00PM philippine time it will be acccessable to me in the US everyday at 6:00AM.
Another idea if your in the US is to use iDevice, a switch that you plug into the power outlet then plug the MAC into. These are great devices that use apple home kit and I use them to power cycle my remote cameras that freez once in awhile and the company who makes the camera said to power cycle to restore the cameras. These devices use their own internet access and work great unfortunately they only make the 110 vac version. Also you must have the MAC set up to restart on power failure.
Hope this helps
A: Another cool thing you can try is to download Remote to your iPhone and setup a library to iTunes. In my case my computer starts automatically when opening the application! =)
| {
"language": "en",
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"question_score": "11"
} |
Q: Options for playing music wirelessly from iPod touch and iPhone? What are the options for playing music from an iPod touch over speakers in multiple rooms, preferably with the ability to turn speakers off in a specific room using a remote? I currently have a basic stereo system but it's about 5 years old, only has two speakers, and doesn't support Bluetooth so I'm not sure if it's worth trying to use with the iPod for this type of setup. Cost isn’t an issue at least until I figure out what the options are.
A: Today Apple announced that the upcoming iOS 4.2 update coming in November will contain a feature called AirPlay where you can stream music, video, and photos directly from your iOS device to a new Apple TV (and presumably the Airport Express).
A: Well, if your stereo has an audio in port, you can go with an Airport Express and send the music wirelessly from iTunes/Front Row on your computer.
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/features/airtunes.html
You could use your iPhone/iPod as a remote using Apple's free Remote app.
I hope this helps.
A: Since my speaker system is hooked up to my desktop computer I use Shairport4w to airplay music and podcasts from my iphone to my desktop.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1005",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "4"
} |
Q: How to skip system hotkeys when using terminal emacs? I like to run GNU emacs in a Terminal window under Mac OS X 10.6.4.
Unfortunately, whenever I hit a hot key for emacs I often "trip" on an OS X system hot key.
For instance, when I hit ⌃ + space in emacs, I end up opening Spotlight.
Is there a way to "skip" system level hot keys when I use emacs under Terminal.app?
I hate to have to manually deactivate all system hot keys and re-enable them whenever I use emacs.
A: Found a way here that solved most of my own problem:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/604808/option-or-command-key-as-meta-key-for-lispbox-on-macintosh
A: On my machine, I replaced the Control modifier key for the Spotlight commands with Command. This is simple, since it changes it for all applications, and doesn't usually conflict with anything else.
System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Spotlight
Alternatively, you could add an additional modifier, e.g., ⌃-⌥-space. Or even change it altogether. I've used ⌃-⌘-F in the past, for example; though that's now the default key for Full Screen on Lion.
The default Spotlight keys are the main conflict with Terminal. I don't think there are other default shortcut keys that are a problem (because they either don't use Control, or if they do they usually use other modifiers or keys that don't conflict with how Terminal handles keyboard input).
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: Problem with Non English(Farsi, ...) subtitle When I want to see a movie or video in mac os x (with VLC, DivX Player, Quick Time) and want to load subtitles, these video player applications can't load my subtitle correctly show in strange text.
My subtitle language is Farsi (RTL language). I must change some Unicode settings, but I don't know where anyone has any idea?
A: According to Trezoid answer on superuser the solution is:
By default the language encoding on VLC (and possibly others) is set to "default" which is windows-1252 (possibly only if your language is set to english, but I'm not sure)
This will not display other languages very well. To fix it, open up VLC preferences, click on the Subtitles and OSD tab, and change "default encoding" to UTF-8
This will give the program a much wider choice of characters to display from allowing it to render the characters as they should be.
A: I had the same problem and fixed it in this way:
open VLC, preferences, subtitle/OSD, and change default coding to one of Arabic languages.
A: It could be (and looks like) a possible issue regrading encoding. It's probably not UTF-8, and something different.
That being said, if VLC can't play it nothing can. I suggest trying to find different subtitles.
A: Try with MplayerX which features:
*
*Auto detect the encode method of subtitle file (with Universal Charset Detector)
*
*Now could support multiple sub files with different encode method
*Load subtitles while playing - just drag or double-click it
*Letterbox for the subtitles
A: Try enca to guess and convert encoding of text files, e.g.
enca -x utf8 -L mylanguage file.srt
For list of supported languages, check man enca.
Related:
*
*How to change encoding from Non-ISO extended-ASCII text?
*iconv any encoding to UTF-8
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1010",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: iMovie export to Ogg Theora? After I finish editing a movie with iMovie '09 under Mac OS X 10.6.4, is there a way to export the final product to Ogg Theora format? OR, is there a way to convert an already exported movie to Ogg Theora easily?
A: As part of Dive Into HTML5, Mark Pilgrim gives two options:
*
*Encoding Ogg Video With Firefogg
*Batch Encoding Ogg Video With ffmpeg2theora
One or both of those should work for you.
A: Just install the XiphQT Quicktime plugin... allows any of the Quicktime-based OS X video players/editors, including iMovie, to export to Theora.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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} |
Q: How do I encode mp4 files with H.264 (or x264) codec in AVIDemux? I am trying to get AVIDemux set up with the X264 codec using this tutorial. The following is what goes down when I get to the ./configure --enable-mp4-output command
Thomas-Phillipss-MacBook:x264 tomdabomb2u$ sudo ./configure --enable-mp4-output
Password:
Unknown option --enable-mp4-output, ignored
Found no assembler
Minimum version is yasm-0.6.2
If you really want to compile without asm, configure with --disable-asm.
So I tried it.
Thomas-Phillipss-MacBook:x264 tomdabomb2u$ sudo ./configure --enable-mp4-output --disable-asm
Unknown option --enable-mp4-output, ignored
Warning: gpac is too old, update to 2007-06-21 UTC or later
Platform: X86_64
System: MACOSX
asm: no
avs: no
lavf: no
ffms: no
gpac: no
pthread: yes
filters: crop select_every
debug: no
gprof: no
PIC: no
shared: no
visualize: no
bit depth: 8
You can run 'make' or 'make fprofiled' now.
I issued make, and then Thomas-Phillipss-MacBook:x264 tomdabomb2u$ ./x264 -v -q 20 -o foreman.mp4 foreman_part_qcif.yuv 176x144. And as expected, the results are:
x264 [error]: not compiled with MP4 output support
So I'm stuck. Any ideas?
A: That's a pretty old tutorial. Try this one (linked from the official Avidemux site).
A: Fast solution:
*
*If you have x264, don't worry about un-install. Stay with it.
*Check your assembler yasm verison.
*Install gpac --> from svn.code.sf.net and compile it.
*Copy gpac/inlucde/gapc/ into x264
*inside x264 and configure as follow
./configure --extra-ldflags=-L/home/../gpac/bin/gcc --enable-mp4 --enable-shared --enable-debug --enable-PIC
*You get the list in the configure x264 and you can easily find that your MP4 from 'no' changed to 'gpac'
*Enter make
*Enter make install
*Write x264 command as x264 big_buck_bunny.y4m -o big_buck_bunny.mp4 to test it. Now you have mp4 video. In this process it's not necessary to convert raw video to h264 and then in a second step with another tool to mp4.
A: Installed the latest version at http://nasm.us
in /usr/local/bin/nasm, ran ./configure again, fixed.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: How much RAM does the 4th Gen iPod Touch have? How much RAM do these iPods ship with?
The iPhone 4 has 512MB, and older iPod Touch 3rd Gen have 256MB (same as the iPad).
Do the new iPod Touch have 512MB as the iPhone 4 (what I would expect) or 256MB?
A: In a tear down Apple Insider found the 4th Gen iPod touch has 256mb
A: According to iFixit, the 4th gen iPod Touch has 256MB, not 512MB like the iPhone 4.:
Breaking news: the iPod Touch has only 256 MB RAM, same Samsung part markings as iPad.
A: 256 MB. [iFixit]
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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} |
Q: How to stop screen from dimming when watching video? After a while being inactive with the mouse or keyboard, the macbook will dim my screen to save battery. I know I can expand the delay before it will dim in the system preferences, but are there any way of automatically disable it when watching video?
It's quite annoying having to touch the mouse every few minutes when watching a movie...
A: You could use a software like Caffeine to easily achieve your need :
Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back. Right-click (or ⌘-click) the icon to show the menu.
A: Jiggler
Jiggler will "jiggle" the mouse transparently to stop dimming or other "sleep" actions. No installation, no ktext loading. Just a little jiggle every 20 sec or so.
I find it absolutely indespensible for watching Hulu movies, videos, or any other action where the screen should stay lit, but I don't want to tinker with the energy saver settings.
A: Depends how you use your laptop when you are watching the movie:)
You can adjust settings separately for Power adapter or Battery
system preferences>Energy Saver>Put the display(s) to sleep when the computer is inactive for...
But make sure in Options section>other Options uncheck box "Automatically reduce the brightness of display before display sleep"
Or use caffeine software:)
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "4"
} |
Q: Why Has the "Downloads" folder become Read-Only? Recently my Downloads folder has become read-only. This prevents Safari form saving any file amongst other annoyances.
As you can see from the below image the folder is read-only but I have plenty of disk space.
As you can see in the Info window it not locked. I am logged in as a user with admin rights etc, etc...
A: You didn't specify that you can't change it back using the Info GUI, but I'm assuming that to be the case, since it wouldn't really be an issue otherwise.
A fix to try would be to change the permissions from the command line:
*
*Open Terminal.app
*Enter cd ~
*Enter sudo chmod +w Downloads
A: I suspect that you might have run an application directly from the Downloads directory, and that app has made the directory which it resides in ReadOnly to prevent any changes being made to it?
A: Silly question, but have you tried running Repair Disk Permissions from Disk Utility?
A: If you want to use the Finder to fix this;
*
*In the Get Info window on that folder click to the lock in the very bottom right of the window to unlock the permissions. It will ask for your username and password.
*Change the value beside your name (the one that says (Me)) to Read and Write from Read Only.
As to why this occurred - it could be many things; a badly behaved installer, a mistyped command or something else that isn't easy to see after the fact.
| {
"language": "en",
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"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: What does the dynamic global hostname option in sharing settings do? Can anyone explain what this option does?
A: The short story is this: when you see "global dynamic hostname", you are seeing the control for configuring a mechanism that Apple provides for making it easier to access your computer through a stable dedicated domain name on the Internet. But this mechanism has never worked well, since virtually no DNS hosts use it.
The long story is more involved.
There is another technology usually called "Dynamic DNS", which allows you to configure your computer so that it can be reached from the Internet, even though your computer is behind a home router. Being behind a home router usually obscures your computer's address from being visible to other machines on Internet. The way this technology works, is that you need to install a DynDNS client on your computer (or it is built in to your home router). That DynDNS client is always running. Every time your computer's address changes, the client tells a server what the new address is. Then other machines on the Internet can go to the server to find your computer's address, and can then reach your computer directly.
The upshot of all this is that the DynDNS client allows other machines to directly contact your computer via a stable domain name like "JohnComputer.john.something.com", even though your computer's actual address is hidden behind a router and is frequently changing. The benefit of this is it would make direct person-to-person communication services, like chat or screen sharing, easier to make and to use.
The keyword is "would". The problem is, even though dynamic DNS is relatively widely supported in routers, it is not widely supported enough that any popular communications service can count on it. Services like Skype and go2meeting that would benefit from it must instead build their own elaborate analogous server system in order to work. That's what they do.
What does this have to do with global dynamic hostnames?
Well, you remember how the technology called dynamic DNS is not widely used, even though it is relatively well supported in routers, and how it might also require installing a client on your computer?
Apple has for years implemented a competing, analogous technology called DNS Update. The client for it is built into every Mac, so you don't need to install anything! I believe Apple's Airport routers also have built in support for it (instead of the dynamic DNS system everyone else uses). And the great thing about DNS Update is that you don't need to rely on the oddball proprietary dynamic DNS servers for it to work. Instead, it's integrated with the normal DNS system, so you only need for your normal DNS host to support IETF proposals, RFC 2136 and RFC 3007. In many ways this is a much more logical system, as it integrates into the DNS infrastructure we are already using.
The downside is, I think there are only two consumer DNS hosts in the world that actually supports this system (Dyn/Oracle and ironDNS). So unless you're going to run your own DNS host, it is useless.
A: For hostname read domain name such as apple.stackexchange.com, john-pc.local or localhost
localhost is a static local hostname in that it is only accessible to a limited area (in this case a single device) and, by tradition, assigned to the same ip address: 127.0.0.1.
john-pc.local is (potentially) a dynamic local hostname in that while it will always refer to the same pc, the device's ip address will vary*.
(* Well at least it will in most household wi-fi networks where the router assigns devices local ip addresses in a manner which means that the ip address might change from time to time by using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or DHCP for short. The same system is frequently used by Internet Service Providers to assign ip address to their subscribers.)
apple.stackexchange.com is a static global hostname in that it is accessible to the while world and semi-permanently* assigned to the same ip address: 198.252.206.16.
(* The ip address can of course be changed but not as part of an automatic software process. )
johndoe.acme-dns-provider.xyz is (potentially) a dynamic global hostname. It is accessible to the while world always points toward the same device but the ip address changes with the device's. Whenever the device's ip address changes special software on the device would log on the the dns providers server and update the ip address record.
A: All computers running Mac OS X contain a feature called Bonjour. It works by sending multicast DNS packets out onto your current network to advertise your computer’s available services. This is how iTunes Sharing works; your computer tells other computers that it has a shared iTunes library available, and gives the computers instructions on where to connect to it. Over the past few weeks, I have been experimenting with an extension of the service called Wide Area Bonjour. Instead of sending out multicast DNS packets to your local network, it sends out similar packets to an actual DNS server, which with the correct authentication, updates actual zones in the DNS server. This essentially allows you to use the magic of Bonjour across many networks, or even the Internet. All that’s required is that each computer that is interested in your Bonjour domain has the domain listed in its “Search Domains” (or “DNS Suffix”).
The service I have been testing out is Global Hostname, which will host a Wide Area Bonjour-enabled zone for you, either on your own domain, or a subdomain of globalhostname.org. Apple’s AirPort product range feature Wide Area Bonjour to enable you to control your AirPort from wherever you are.
Added:
Its purpose is to provide features similar to those offered by "Back to My Mac" without using the .Mac/MobileMe service. It requires that you have your own DNS server. If your service provider supports secure dynamic DNS update (RFC 3007), you can provide your Mac with a global DNS hostname so that other computers outside your local network can refer to it by name. Even if your computer’s IP address changes at regular intervals, your computer will automatically update its global DNS hostname to point to its current IP address. Your service provider or domain administrator will provide you with the necessary user name and password so your Mac can update its hostname every time its address changes. If your service provider supports Wide-Area Bonjour registrations, you can also select the “Advertise services in this domain using Bonjour” checkbox to advertise this computer’s active Sharing services in this domain. If the domain’s administrator enabled Bonjour browsing for this domain, other computers will see the services listed automatically in the respective application, based on the Search Domains entered in their Network preferences or based on information returned by DHCP. :)
A: As far as GlobalNames are concerned it is a replacement for the WINS service that many Windows networks rely upon.
On a DNS server it is required to create SRV records and don't think this isn't a security risk. You still need to open ports through your routers firewall to enable the service to work.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1025",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "26"
} |
Q: Is it normal for it to take hours to delete a Time Capsule "sparsebundle" I'm trying to make room on my time capsule to make backups (it currently tells me it's full).
I got help in this question with how to delete individual backups, but it didn't solve the problem. Even after I'd deleted all the backups Time Machine sees, I still have a ~700GB sparsebundle on the time capsule.
So, I'm trying to manually delete it, but it doesn't appear to be making progress. I had this for about an hour:
and then it switched to this:
I realize that might seem like progress, but note the lack of blue filling up the progress bar. It's been like that for hours now.
Is this normal? Is there a better way?
Note that I really don't want to reformat the TC because I have other files that I've manually saved there, plus my wife's TC backups.
EDIT: Nothing was happening. It was apparently too much for Wifi. Once I connected via ethernet, I was able to delete, but it took the better part of a day.
A: It is theoretically possible if the drive is near full that a delete operation may take a lot of time. You can try to delete the file via the command line, which bypasses the Finder and does it the Unix way.
In any case there must be hard drive activity during the process. If the drive is not making any noise or light, then it’s not doing anything and that’s not good. But be patient.
A: It is absolutely normal. If you were to examine the .sparsebundle disk image that Time Machine stores data in, it consists of tens of thousands of files inside a sort of camouflaged folder. Deleting an individual file takes a relatively short period of time, but that time adds up quickly especially when you're accessing those files over a comparatively slow interface like WiFi.
A: Similarly to others, Time Machine made an excessively large .sparsebundle file (650GB) on my Seagate GoFlex drive, labeled .purgeable. Then Time Machine stopped backing up. Out of room. Purgeable file was never purged. Now I know to have at least twice the size of my original data available on the backup drive.
I wanted to delete the .sparsebundle. Manual file deletion didn't work; the "Deleting .sparsebundle" process went on for 6 days, ending with the extremely unhelpful [ The operation can’t be completed because the item “bands” is in use. ] Other forums suggested using Disk Utility or AirPort Utility to re-format; but neither app could see the wifi drive.
Only by going to the online GoFlex drive setup app was re-formatting finally a success.
PART 1
https://www.seagateshare.com/ - log in as admin
Preferences > Administration > Storage Devices
Select the Hard drive, choose option Format and wait until it finishes. Even with a red error message, check the drive space result - mine worked anyway.
Presto - clean hard drive, all information erased as if unboxing for the first time.
PART 2
'OSStatus error' may appear when you try to assign the drive in Time Machine. Unbelievably, setting up a secondary account via the GoFlex Home app fixes it.
GoFlex Home Agent > File > Open GoFlex Home > Preferences > Administration > New User
Just don't use any previous user account credentials and don't really ever use this to log on to the drive.
Voila. Drive ready to be re-assigned for Time Machine backup.
Credit where credit is due:
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/GoFlex-Net-GoFlex-Home/GoFlex-Home-filling-up-how-to-erase/m-p/78964
Sorry to those who don't want to re-format your drive. This solution is only good for returning the drive to zero. If you don't have a Seagate, but have a similar .sparsebundle Time Machine problem, perhaps your drive also has an online app re-format option at the manufacturer's site.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: Finding Firefox bookmarks in Spotlight Is there a program that will allow me to use Spotlight to search my Firefox bookmarks and open the browser window?
A: *
*First, download this file to your desktop: ffmd.sh
*Open a terminal, and run the following:
sudo mkdir /usr/local
sudo mkdir /usr/local/bin
sudo mv ~/Desktop/ffmd.sh
/usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/ffmd.sh
sudo chown root:wheel
/usr/local/bin/ffmd.sh
*
*Now, schedule the task with crontab. The following line will schedule for 10 minutes:
0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * *
/usr/local/bin/ffmd.sh > /dev/null
2>&1
This script is in the public domain, and intended for those with a little experience with UNIX.
the source is here.
A: Here is a proof of concept ffmd_sqlite script that uses the Firefox places database. Webloc docs are created that will be found by Spotlight and can be opened with Firefox.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: Is there a way to make my MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard hibernate with a keyboard shortcut? Is there a way to hibernate at all?
I know if the battery dies when it's sleeping it hibernates, but is there a way to go directly to hibernate with a keyboard shortcut?
A: Option-Command-Eject is the system-standard key to put the machine to sleep.
If you want to do more than sleep, you can use this preference pane to fine-tune the sleep or hibernate behavior: http://www.jinx.de/SmartSleep.html
Edit:
More information about sleep, hibernate, and more on the Mac: http://www.geekguides.co.uk/104/how-to-enable-hibernate-mode-on-a-mac/
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1038",
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"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: How can I revert the appearance of the close, minimize and zoom buttons with iTunes 10? The new vertical layout is causing me all sorts of grief - is there any way to revert this back to the normal horizontal orientation of the close, minimize and zoom buttons of every other Mac OS X window?
A: Do this on Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.iTunes full-window -int -1
| {
"language": "en",
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} |
Q: Why is /tmp a symlink to /private/tmp? Why is /tmp a symlink to /private/tmp on Mac OS X? In other words, why isn't /tmp just a regular directory, like on Linux or BSD? I understand how it works and I don't mind it, I'm just interested in the (historical?) reasoning behind it.
A: I have always wondered the same thing. I can't find any documentation to support it, but typically this pattern is used to make it easier to store files on another volume (e.g. hard drive). This allows the drive to be mounted (e.g. attached) into the file system in one place. For example when the drive is mounted at /private and then the folders /etc, /tmp, and /var are then all located on that other drive.
What I can't say is why this would be beneficial. It is worth noting, however, that these three folders contain "data" files such as configuration, temporary, log, transient and database files rather than executable code contained in the /bin, /sbin and /usr folders.
A: As I understand it, it's a holdover from NextStep (which OS X is based on), and NextStep did it to support NetBooting. The idea was that you could boot from a network-hosted volume (probably read-only, and certainly shared with other computers), and early in the boot process mount a local (writable) volume on /private; as g mentioned, this allowed runtime-modification of /var and /tmp, as well as per-computer settings in /etc.
This isn't needed anymore, as Apple's current NetBoot system uses a shadow disk image to store changes anywhere on the boot volume. But some programs/docs/etc now assume the files live under /private, so it'd be too much trouble to switch them back...
Update: since I wrote this, Apple has stopped supporting NetBoot, so the original purpose of /private is even more obsolete. However, in macOS Catalina (version 10.15), they've added a new volume split. In this case it's for security rather than to support NetBoot, but it works in a fairly similar way.
Catalina's system volume is mounted read-only, with a read-write volume mounted at /System/Library/Data (analogous to the old system that mounted a RW volume at /private), and "firmlinks" making parts of the RW volume appear at their usual locations in the filesystem (again, analogous to the symbolic links that make parts of /private appear at their usual locations). For example, /Users is now a firmlink to /System/Library/Data/Users. The Eclectic Light Company has a good summary.
Catalina also still has the symbolic links to /private; thus, when you access /etc on Catalina, it follows the symlink to /private/etc, and then the firmlink to /System/Library/Data/private/etc
A: Not sure about the historical reason, but OS X always “reorganized” the typical Unix structure. /tmp is not the only thing that goes to /private, it also has /etc and /var.
Maybe someone with more OS X background can come up with something more reasonable.
A: /tmp is a symbolic lynk to /private/etc so as to maintain clearly separated 2 filesystems:
*
*/ which can be mounted as read-only, to protect it against
any accidental or unwanted modification, and to protect it of being filled with always increasing files (logs and temporary files),
*/private which can be mounted as read-write, and which hold any directory containing modifiable files.
If you look at / you will notice 3 directories which are similar
symbolic links for this same reason:
cd /
ls -al | grep '> private'
This separation of access between read-write and read-only filesystems
isn't used actually (in MacOS X), but everything is in place to achieve
this security separation.
Some admins are enforcing this security separation by defining a specific /private
filesystem with the appropriate size and appropriate mounting options
(most notably nosuid).
A: Frequently in Unix, identical ways of the same thing are because of historical differences between System V Unix and BSD Unix. Modern Unixes have to support both to be compatible.
For instance, lpr and lp for printing: lpr is from BSD and lp is from System V.
Whether this is the case here, I don't know.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
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} |
Q: I've used my Sony PlayStation Eye with several desktop apps. Why doesn't iChat see it? I have a Sony PlayStation Eye USB camera and microphone.
I have successfully used it on my Mac Pro desktop with several video application (iShowU HD for example).
However, although iChat will recognise the microphone it will not work with the camera, see screen shot.
A: See http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/
Good luck!
:-)
| {
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"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1044",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: How can I sync my iTunes music library between two Macs for free? I have a desktop system that I use as a server. I also have a MacBook Pro that is my main computer. I've done a lot of organization and cleanup of my music library and have it all on my MacBook Pro.
I'd like to be able to keep the music library on my MacBook Pro in sync with the desktop machine so that my wife can access everything from her own MacBook Pro.
I thought about setting up folder actions that would copy the files into the "Automatically add to iTunes" folder. However, since I like to use the "keep my iTunes library organized" option, the files get moved into the iTunes music directory and I can't write a script that will compare my MacBook Pro's iTunes music library with the "Automatic" directory on the server.
Also, a simple file copy will not sync metadata like ratings and plays. Is there a free, automated solution for syncing iTunes libraries between 2 Macs?
Below is how I finally did it based on the rsync suggestion:
I used the link provided by James in this answer (but I took out the --size-only option after the first sync):
iTunes Utility - Merging Libraries
I also took out the --force option (because it's redundant when also using --delete). so my rsync command looks like this:
rsync -av --delete ~/Music/iTunes/ /Volumes/robert/Music/iTunes > ~/Automation/automator/logs/itunes_rsync.log
I then integrated this into an Automator workflow. Looks like this: Get Specified Servers ► Connect to Servers ► Run Shell Script ► Eject Disk.
Creating it as an iCal Workflow is screwy for me because I use MobileMe and the iCal event gets synced with my other machines where I don't want this workflow to run. So instead, I created an agent using Lingon that runs the workflow every 8 hours.
A: It's possible to keep libraries in sync using rsync. Google for iTunes and rsync and you'll find some solutions.
A: How large is your library? Dropbox has helped many people in this situation, and it will work from anywhere.
UPDATE
Do you use only one computer at a time? Are you the only user of iTunes in each computer? Is your desktop a Mac with the same version of iTunes?
If so, observe this scenario:
You backup your desktop's ~/Music/iTunes folder and then delete it. You then copy the entire ~/Music/iTunes folder from the Macbook Pro to the desktop.
You have your laptop out of the house. You rip a new CD or download some tracks from iTunes or Amazon.com, etc. (but put a copy of the new song files aside in another folder temporarily), then listen, rate songs, etc. all day. Then when you get home, you copy the new files to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder on the desktop and iTunes does its magic of organizing the music files (just like on your Macbook Pro!) Then you replace everything inside the ~/Music/iTunes folder on your desktop with what's on your Macbook Pro EXCEPT the ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media folder (where the actual songs reside).
Voilà!
A: I have not tried this, but would like to some time: Mashduo. I found this via the excellent One Thing Well website: "A utility for OS X that lets you compare two iTunes libraries, generating a report of songs that don’t appear in both libraries and (optionally) making a zip archive of the missing tracks."
Sounds like some manual work, but may be another approach to achieve what you need.
A: Soon iCloud will do this for you w/o all of that trouble. Just connect up the libraries and presto (in theory).
A: I haven't tried this yet (although I am going to soon) but I believe the newest version of Dropbox has a lan sync. So that you can tell it NOT to backup your music over the internet (if it's larger than your plan allows) but keep them synced over the lan.
A: You go to the little tab at the top that says "iTunes."
Click it, go to preferences. Then go to Sharing. Then click "Share my library with my local library." Then click it to share my entire playlist on other home computers.
and change whatever you want, then you should be able to access your entire library on all the computers that are registered in your home system.
A: I use skydrive, its free and has 7Gb of space.
1 - Create a hotmail or live account if you dont have it.
2- Then go to skydrive.com log in and install the app. (also need to log in the app the first time).
3 - On the PC or Mac, where you have the main music collection (i suggest to gather all your music to the same computer at first), then you create a folder for your music inside Skydrive's folder and past all your music there.
4 - Then on itunes (reset itunes is HIGHLY recommended) go to "Preferences" > "Advanced Preferences" and choose as "itunes media folder" the music folder inside Skydrive. Also check both options "Keep Itunes Folder organized", this one is a must for to this to work so both Itunes (or more) can read your musics with no conflicts and the second options "Copy files to Itunes Media folder when adding to library" this one isn't a must but extremely useful because helps you to add new music to your collection, with this option ON you can simply drag a music from your desktop to your itunes with the option OFF you MUST put the music on the skydrive music folder.
5 - For the other computers you want to sync the library, repeat step 2 and 4 (dont need to repeat step 3).
This works for windows and mac.
This works OUT SIDE of a home network
Your computer will start syncing the second you turn on the computer just make skydrive to startup with the OS. So when you turn on itunes you will have your music there.
cheers, berna
EDIT: btw i dont recommend to use Home sharing feature, i try it out and duplicated all my music (In My Place 2.mp3) inside the skydrive folder...
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1045",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "20"
} |
Q: Custom spaces with external monitor I have a MacBook Pro plus an external 24" monitor. I'm also using 4 virtual spaces. With the external monitor they double, so I have 8 virtual spaces.
What I'd like to achieve now, and I don't know if it's possible at all, is to have 5 virtual spaces. 4 on my MacBook and only 1 for my external monitor. The reason for that is, that I have different applications (IDE, Terminal, chat, etc.) on my MacBook spread over the spaces, but on my external monitor I'd like to have always my web browser (the exact same window) showing, regardless on which virtual space I am on my MacBook.
Anyone an idea if that is possible?
A: in Spaces Preferences you can set the browser application to appear on all spaces. that's how i have my Terminal set up, among a few others. unless you move more apps onto your secondary monitor, the browser window should constanly stay visible even when switching around Spaces.
A: This is a third party, non-free app, but it helps keep your applications organized across monitors and within Spaces as well. http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ (I am not the developer, just a happy customer.)
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1049",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: Is there a keyboard shortcut for playing a song next in iTunes DJ? I would like a quicker method of queuing up my songs in iTunes DJ. Right clicking and selecting the option is too slow.
A: You didn't mention what keyboard, but on the Apple keyboard:
F7 - restart current song
F8 - pause/play
F9 - skip forward
Note that you need to have the box unchecked in OSX that says use function keys as normal. In the event you use your function keys for something, I've also successfully created trigger hotkey combos in Quicksilver. You can also probably just remap them in keyboard preferences.
A: You can make an automator workflow with "Get Selected iTunes Tracks" and "Add Songs to Playlist". That will add it to the end of iTunes DJ, though, is that good enough?
In order to give it a keyboard shortcut, you can either use a keyboard shortcut utility like Spark, Quicksilver, or Butler, or you can save the workflow as a service and give it a shortcut in the keyboard shortcuts section of the system preferences.
A: I have made two Automator workflows that do what mckeed suggested. They take the selected tracks and put them in the iTunes DJ list.
Put these two files in the /Users/[Username]/Library/Services folder and then you can assign keyboard shortcuts through the system preferences to them.
The Add to iTunes DJ service just adds the selected track to the end of the queue, the Add to iTunes DJ and Play does the same, but starts playing the song right away.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1053",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: Keyboard shortcut for accessing address bar in Firefox I am trying to Alt+D on my Mac, but it doesn't take me to the address bar. Instead, the key seems to insert a random character. Is there an alternative shortcut?
A: Cmd+L a.k.a. ⌘+L does the trick.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1054",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: iPhone volume - ringer vs. volume? When I'm adjusting the volume on my iPhone, I've noticed that sometimes it says "ringer" as I adjust it, and sometimes it says "volume"; also, sometimes it says "volume (headphones)". What determines when the volume buttons are adjusting the volume vs. the ringer, and what is the difference between the two actions?
Thanks!
A: Your ringer volume adjusts the volume of the sound coming out of the phone when it's ringing. If the phone is not playing media (i.e. no sound is coming out of it) then the volume buttons on the side adjust the ringer volume.
If you are playing media (music, video, etc) out the internal speakers, then the buttons on the side adjust the volume of that media coming out those speakers.
Finally, when you have headphones plugged in, the iPhone knows this and has a separate volume for headphones. Using the volume buttons will adjust the headphones volume when headphones are plugged in.
The reason why these are separate is because sometimes you want to mute your ringer, but still want to listen to media (or vice versa), and because the headphone and internal speaker volumes are different and need to be adjusted separately.
A: If you are trying to adjust the volume, but are only getting the option to adjust the ringer, push the home button while you are adjusting the volume buttons and it will switch to volume...
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1058",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "10"
} |
Q: Spotlight indexing appears stuck, what can I do? My Spotlight index got corrupted, preventing me from searching messages in Mail.app. I added my HD to Spotlight's privacy list to delete the index. I then removed it from the privacy list so Spotlight would reindex the drive from scratch.
I have done this before with no real problem.
However, this time Spotlight appears to be stuck. It's been "Estimating indexing time" for about 6 hours now.
What can/should I do?
A: You can try to temporarily disable Spotlight, removing its files and then reenabling it.
The process to do this involves executing Terminal commands, so please pay attention and triple check each step.
Open a Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app) and type:
cd /Volumes
ls -l
Examine the output of that, one should be your “broken” Volume. Once you have it identified, proceed with these steps, all in the Terminal. The first time you execute a command, your password may be required, this is normal.
The output may look like:
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin 1 Sep 2 12:23 MacintoshHD -> /
So the name you’re after is “MacintoshHD”.
Step Number One: Disable Spotlight for your Drive.
sudo mdutil -i off "/Volumes/the_name_you_have_identified_before"
Step Number Two: Remove the indexes from the Drive.
sudo mdutil -E "/Volumes/the_name_you_have_identified_before"
Step Number Three: Eliminate all Spotlight Files from the Drive. (two commands)
cd "/Volumes/the_name_you_have_identified_before"
sudo rm -fr .Spotlight-V100
Be careful with the last command, make sure you type it exactly as it appears.
Step Number Four: Re-enable spotlight in the Drive.
sudo mdutil -i on "/Volumes/the_name_you_have_identified_before"
Now this should trigger a Spotlight complete re-indexing. You have to be extremely patient with it. Spotlight sometimes appears to be frozen but it’s really indexing. It’s best to leave it overnight and be patient.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1072",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "14"
} |
Q: How to install plug-in in Gimp on OS X? I've got the Gimp for Mac OS X installed and working in my installation of Mac OS X 10.6.4. A very important tool I need is the David's Batch Processor plugin ( http://members.ozemail.com.au/~hodsond/dbp.html ) for batch auto-adjusting contrast/brightness/colour for my images.
There are no Mac specific instructions provided on the software's website saying how to install the python-based plugin. Can anyone please teach me how to install plugins for Gimp in Mac OS X?
A: There are OS X instructions in the GIMP documentation and they suggest installing GIMP from fink or macports. Do this and you can follow the Linux/Unix instructions for plugin installation. Otherwise, the documentation states "good luck" if you install it some other way.
However, searching http://gimper.net suggests that, for a Python plugin, you should put it in: [your home]/Library/Applications Support/Gimp/plug-ins (create directory if necessary).
A: You'll find the appropriate folders at /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Gimp/. There go in the scripts folder
and the presets go in the gimpressionist folder
I found these locations by looking at the GIMP preferences, and clicking on Scripts. The locations cited above were listed there.
A: I've managed to get DBP installed on my Mac (version 10.6.8). I've made the compiled plugin available on my blog, since compiling Gimp from MacPorts took an overnight compilation session, and is way too much hassle for folks who just want to plug-n-play.
So... anyone is welcome to grab my binary as they wish. If it's useful, please comment, and if it doesn't work, please comment; in either case if you can state versions of OS X and Gimp, that will hopefully help other users trying to avoid compiling it themselves!
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1074",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "8"
} |
Q: What is a good Apple podcast to listen to on a daily basis? If I have time to listen to just one podcast a day or every other day about Apple stuff, which one should I listen to? I know there's a lot of different specialized Apple podcasts out there (i.e. Mac downloads, iOS apps, Apple news, etc.), but can anyone recommend a general podcast which has elements of all of these? I'd also be interested in the best podcasts in certain specialized areas, but mostly I'm looking for one that I can listen to consistently and find out most of what is going on in the Apple world.
A: MacBreak Weekly seems to fit the bill except it's, er, weekly. I don't know of any daily podcasts.
A: Mac OS Ken
I really like the podcast Mac OS Ken. From the description on iTunes...
This is daily Apple news. Monday
through Friday, Ken Ray brings
commute-sized tech news to the
podsphere. If it's Apple news,
Apple-related news, or news related to
Apple-related news, you'll hear about
it here. News you'll like... this is
Mac OS Ken.
It is free five times per week with a 'Day 6' show available to paid subscribers. The podcast is very well-done, informative and entertaining with a bit of humor.
On iTunes: Mac OS Ken
Web site: Mac OS Ken
A: Hypercritical from 5by5 is excellent, John Siracua is a great analyst
A: These aren't released daily, but I also like the MacCast, and MacGeekGab.
I still listen to MacBreak Weekly, but I listen more for Andy Ihnatko than Leo Laporte. Leo is a radio and TV guy who talks for a living. Andy studies technology and is an amazing writer.
EDIT: As a newbie to this forum, I can't post more than one hyperlink yet (Even though I belong to several other StackExchange sites), but the podcasts are all available through iTunes. I'll leave the link to Andy's blog.
A:
I'm not sure about the "daily" but TED talks are very good. They have multiple "streams" for audio, video, and high definition video.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1075",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: Slow transfer between iMac and Macbook Pro I've recently purchased a new Macbook Pro, and am attempting to copy files over my LAN from an iMac (both running Snow Leopard). I have about 100GB of data to transfer, and am finding I'm getting incredibly slow transfer speeds. For example, an 86MB file is taking about 7 minutes.
If I transfer this file from either the iMac or the Macbook Pro to a HP laptop running Windows 7, it takes about 60 seconds. Also, if I initiate the transfer of the file between the iMac and Macbook Pro on the HP (using Windows Explorer to transfer from iMac to Macbook), it also takes approximately 60 seconds.
Can anyone offer any suggestions as to why the file transfers, when initiated from the Macbook or iMac using Finder, would be so slow? I'm not very experienced with OSX yet, so please be gentle with me :-)
A: To transfer via FireWire, turn off one of the Macs, then when powering it on hold down the 'T' key. This will put the computer in Target Disk Mode and make that computer's disk available to the other computer. You can then just drag and drop between the two drives on the other computer.
If you connect the cable when both computers are powered on, your Macs will treat it like a network, assign themselves IP addresses, and use Bonjour to broadcast their sharing services. You will be able to connect via AFP/SMB/etc, but this configuration defeats the purpose of the firewire cable - you could just get a cat5e or cat6 ethernet cable and make the same connection, and it would be faster than Firewire in this case (assuming both Macs have gigabit ethernet ports)
A: when you are telling LAN you mean wire or wireless?
When you try to transfer files from iMac to macbook pro, what time transferring?
also
it's not possible to copy data faster than the maximum read or write speed of the hard drives. Most hard drives are going to have a maximum sustained transfer rate of maybe 45-50 MB/sec (some may advertise around 80 MB/sec this assumes completely contiguous data. Throw some randomized head-seek time in there and that will quickly degrade to about half of the max theoretical speed.
Over 100 BaseT (100 Mbps ethernet) then the network would become the new bottleneck and it would not be possible to get a transfer faster than 10 MB/sec (and more likely 9).
If you're doing wireless. If it's wireless G then the max theoretical speed is 54Mbps (5.4 MB/sec) BUT... it's half-duplex. You'd be lucky to get 4 MB/sec.
Also what king of router do you have?
Possibly sustained traffic can crashing the cheap router....
So as resume:
Use Fireware800 or fireware400 cable to make this transfer as painless as possible
A: I purchased a new router today (as it has been giving me problems), and this test file is now taking approximately 5 seconds to copy. So it was, as I suspected, a problem with the router after all. Thanks to all for the suggestions, and information regarding FireWire file transfer (which unfortunately I couldn't do, as the salesperson gave me the incorrect information regarding the type of cable to purchase).
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1077",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: Can I use Air Display on multiple iOS devices at the same time? I use Air Display to convert my iPad in to an extra monitor when I'm not using it. However, I have other iOS devices lying around, too. Is it possible to use Air Display to turn multiple iOS devices in to extra monitors at the same time?
A: Question: "is it possible to use Air Display with more than one Ipad?”
Answer: "We only support one iPad at a time currently. We've talked about supporting multiple iPads at once and that may be something we support in the future. For now, we're sticking with one iPad. “
Source: Air Display Support Forum
A: While air display does not allow 2 devices yet, you can install another app called 'Display Pad' and achieve your goal. It's only $2.99 so it really shouldn't be an obstacle. It doesn't have as many features as Air Display, but it gets the job done and by using both apps you can use 2 devices at once on your mac.
My setup is using my macbook Pro with a 24" monitor plugged into it, between those 2 devices I have an ipad in portrait mode running Air Display stacked on some books to elevate it, right below it I have an ipad mini running DisplayPad in landscape mode. All 4 screens work great, I park skype, reminders and itunes into my tablet screens and it's working flawlessly.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1078",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "5"
} |
Q: What media formats are playable/streamable on Apple TV? For both the new (tiny) generation, and the last generation, what media formats and codecs are supported for streaming to Apple TV?
How does that streaming work -- is it all iTunes-based, or are there other ways to go about doing it?
A: The original Apple TV (out of box) preferred to treat your Apple TV like an iPod. It wanted you to sync your video from iTunes and had the following limitation:
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
The new Apple TV has identical requirements as that of the new iPod touch and iPhone 4:
H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
As for how it works, while nothing hard has been released from the UI screenshots released items from the internet (iTunes store, YouTube, Netflix, etc.) will stream from their respective sources while your photos, music and video streams directly from iTunes or from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (via AirPlay coming in iOS 4.2)
A: according to Wiki Apple TV support:
*
*DivX (.avi, .divx)
*Flash Video (.flv)
*H.264 (.mp4, .m4v)
*MPRG-2 (.mpg, .mp2, .vob, .m2v)
*Windows Media (.wmv
*XviD (.avi)
and for audio Codecs:
*
*AAC (.m4a)
*MPEG Layer-3 (.mp3)
*Dolby AC3 (.ac3)
*DTS (.wav)
*FLAC (.flac)
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1079",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: Defer Sending Email using Mail.app I'm curious, does anybody have a decent solution for sending e-mails via Mail.app at some scheduled times? I'm badly in need of something like that :)
A: I believe that you don’t consider Deferrersender (web based) to be decent. It’s not, but it delivers.
UPDATE: An alternative, that doesn’t use Mail.app (but Thunderbird) would be to use SendLater. An extension that does exactly that. But it’s for Thunderbird. I couldn’t find a similar plug-in for Mail.app.
A: You can use Apple scripts to setup mail app schedule mail via iCal
http://homepage.mac.com/aamann/Mail_Scripts.html
Or use web based service as Martin said
http://www.lettermelater.com/
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1088",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: 404s "tracker" for Mac OS X I'm looking for OS X software that can help me track 404 errors on my site.
A: What are you using to watch the stats on your website? Most stats packages that read the logs will give you a 404 report (eg. AWStats, Summary).
If you're looking for a program to run on your Mac to check that for you; Piltdown Link Checker, Integrity, WebLight or LinkByLink are all options.
A: If you want to track broken links, the best way to do it is checking the production/online site. I’ve used BrokenLinkCheck in the past. It’s free and it delivers. Your mileage may vary.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1089",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "0"
} |
Q: Can I "hide" the keyboard on my iPhone 4 the way you can on the iPad? When using my iPad to, for example, write an email, I have the option to press a button and hide the keyboard. This is useful for reviewing an email prior to sending it.
Is there a similar feature with the iPhone? If anything, this would seem particularly useful on the iPhone given its smaller screen.
A: Unfortunately not. I agree that this feature would be nice, especially since it's included on the iPad. The only way to review an email prior to sending it without having the keyboard on the screen is to save it as a draft, then reopen it. A little tedious, sure, but it might be worth it if it's a long email.
A: It's now possible with iOS 5. Tap into the Messages part of the screen and pull down the keyboard. Awesome.
A: In Messages, just hit "Edit" and don't delete anything.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1097",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "7"
} |
Q: What's the default Notes account setting used for on the iPhone? What's the default Notes account setting used for on the iPhone?
Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Default Account (in the "Notes" section).
What does it do?
I couldn't find any documentation in the user's guide for this setting.
A: Each Mail account on your iOS 4+ device is able to sync notes. When you have it enabled for multiple mail accounts you're able to have notes stored in different accounts. The Default Account setting will be for which account the notes are associated with unless you say so otherwise (Identical to the Default mail account in terms of functionality). The screenshot below might help - namely showing the Notes app is like the Mail application - an All Notes (Mail) view and just viewing on the individual accounts.
(Source of Photo)
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1103",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: Can I change the action that occurs when I close my laptop's lid? Is there any way to change what happens when I close the lid of my laptop?
Do macs have the option of hibernating vs. sleeping like PC's do?
If so, which of these is the default behavior when I close the lid?
A: You can also leave the system to manage this automatically. It'll sleep, but hibernate in the background as it were, so it can wake quickly, but still survive a battery death.
Normally you'll find it was just asleep and waked immediately. If you the battery did die, then returning from hibernation you'll find the screen as you left it, but grey. It'll then load and colour up, until awake. Take only a minute.
The hibernation doesn't take that long, seconds anyway, and is the pause you see before the light starts breathing.
A: macs do have hibernate and sleep, the default on newer machines is a combination. the closing of the lid saves to disk for hibernate but on wakeup if the battery has not run out it wakes from sleep. Macworld explanation
You can change it from the command line
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3
Or via preference pane
Apple docs
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1104",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "13"
} |
Q: Download Manager for Mac OS X What is a good Download Manager for Mac?
Are there free ones available?
A: I highly recommended you use iGetter it was better than other one.
*
*iGetter
but also can use
*
*Download Accelerator Plus (DAP)
*Folx (free) but can pay money and upgrade it to pro
Also if you can use terminal and install package I recommended you use AXEL I myself use this one. after install it you can use this like below in terminal
axel -n 100 -s 5242880 "your download link"
the -n 100 show the number of your connection to the server
and the -s 5242880 use for limiting the speed,-s 5242880 in above example will try to keep the average speed around 5242880 (5120 Kilobyte per/sec).
A: Aria2 bundled with WebUI is the best you can get on OS X. All you have to do is run Aria from Terminal and open WebUI in Browser.
Features
*
*Multi-Connection Download. aria2 can download a file from multiple sources/protocols and tries to utilize your maximum download bandwidth. Really speeds up your download experience.
*Lightweight. aria2 doesn’t require much memory and CPU time. When disk cache is off, the physical memory usage is typically 4MiB (normal HTTP/FTP downloads) to 9MiB (BitTorrent downloads). CPU usage in BitTorrent with download speed of 2.8MiB/sec is around 6%.
*Fully Featured BitTorrent Client. All features you want in BitTorrent client are available: DHT, PEX, Encryption, Magnet URI, Web-Seeding, Selective Downloads, Local Peer Discovery and UDP tracker.
*Metalink Enabled. aria2 supports The Metalink Download Description Format (aka Metalink v4), Metalink version 3 and Metalink/HTTP. Metalink offers the file verification, HTTP/FTP/BitTorrent integration and the various configurations for language, location, OS, etc.
*Remote Control. aria2 supports RPC interface to control the aria2 process. The supported interfaces are JSON-RPC (over HTTP and WebSocket) and XML-RPC.
A: I use JDownloader a lot. It is extremely useful if you're downloading content from the cloud (to name the popular one: Rapidshare, Hotfile, Megaupload).
And it's free.
A: Let's not forget DownThemAll for Firefox. Yes, it's a plug-in for Firefox, but since Firefox also runs on the Mac, this makes it a valid answer. It's free too.
A: Fat Pipe - (free) has plugins for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox
note: I am extremely biased (i wrote fat pipe);
I used to use Speed Download but they recently stopped supporting their app and i was getting a bunch of errors.
Fat Pipe actually supports up to 50 connections per download and automatically determines connection count based on file size.
A: There are several choices :
*
*Folx :
Folx is a free download manager for Mac OS X with a true Mac-style
interface. It offers convenient downloads managing, flexible settings,
etc. Folx has a unique system of sorting and keeping the downloaded
content.
*
*iGetter:
iGetter is a full featured download manager and accelerator. With
iGetter you can get the most out of your Internet connection be it
dial-up, wireless, cable, DSL, T1 and other high end broadband
connections. iGetter can greatly improve the speed of your downloads
using segmented (accelerated) downloading.
*
*Leech (paid one) : clean UI.
Every modern browser has its own download functionality, so why should
you use a separate application for handling downloads in the first
place? Because Leech works better than any built-in download manager.
*
*jDownloader 2
JDownloader is a free, open-source download management tool with a
huge community of developers that makes downloading as easy and fast
as it should be. Users can start, stop or pause downloads, set
bandwith limitations, auto-extract archives and much more. It's an
easy-to-extend framework that can save hours of your valuable time
every day!
- Fat Pipe: (free)
Most servers and internet service providers limit the speed a single
connection can have. We can bypass these limits by splitting a
download task up into many smaller chunks. This guarantees that you
will fully saturate your internet connection.
http://fatpipeapp.com/media/demo.mp4
A: As much as this saddens me but I would also recommend jDownloader. On the other hand for some simple and not so simple cases you could opt for wget or curl. You could be evan braver and create a batch script using one of those UNIX commands and be done with it.
A: I think download managers are uneeded, at least, anymore. This question was asked 4 years ago, I know, but Download Managers are useless in today's world.
Need a download manager still? Your browser. Done!
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1109",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "17"
} |
Q: Why does 'uname -m' says 'i386' even if I'm on Macbook Pro on Intel Core 2 Duo? My Macbook Pro is running on Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26 GHz. OS - Leopard 10.5.8. My assumption is that all Core 2 Duo processor systems are 64 bit. But uname -m command outputs i386. Why is it so?
A: It's because, by default, Mac OS X boots in 32-bit, excepts some recent models.
Quoted from Apple KB Mac OS X v10.6: Macs that use the 64-bit kernel :
This Mac uses the 64-bit kernel by default in Mac OS X v10.6 :
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
These Macs use the 64-bit kernel by default in Mac OS X Server 10.6 :
- Xserve (Early 2008) and later
- Mac Pro (Early 2008) and later
- Mac mini (Mid 2010)
These Macs support the 64-bit kernel, but do not use it by default :
- iMac (Early 2008) and later
- MacBook Pro (Early 2008) and later
Here is a little software that can help you to boot in 64-bit if your hardware supports it.
A: uname is intended to be a very broad brush. It's of use to find out the continent on which you have landed soon after arrival on planet UNIX. Your kernel is 32 bit with that i386 answer.
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType and system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType are the tools for figuring detailed processor and kernel specifics at runtime.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1111",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: iPod 2nd Gen Replacement digitizer not working So I just ordered a new digitizer and middle frame for my 2nd Gen iPod Touch, wired everything up, and the digitizer is not recognizing any finger swipes.
I have not snapped the frame into place yet as I want to make sure I don't have to tear this thing apart again. The video's I've watched show that the digitizer "should" work when not snapped in.
Is there anything I should be looking for before marking this new digitizer as defective?
A: Ended up ordering a new digitizer :-(
A: If you're sure that it's cable is in correctly and it doesn't come up after a hard reboot (hold power button, slide to off, turn on again) - chances are it is defective or not the the right type. Not sure about ipods but the digitizers on iphone generations are listed as not compatible on parts websites!
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1114",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "1"
} |
Q: Where can I find replacement feet for my MacBook Pro? I've got a 2009 Unibody MBP, and the feet are starting to fall off. I've lost one and one I have kept in a safe place.
Does anyone know where I can get replacement feet? I looked on Ebay to no avail.
EDIT:
Well thanks for the answers so far, however nothing is turning up. I just got off the phone with the Genius bar at the local Apple store, and they said it simply doesn't exist. They want to sell me an entire "Lower Case" ... big $$$ for something so trivial.
Still looking for more suggestions.
A: I had an old Powerbook G3 that had lost 2 of it's rubber feet. Instead of trying to replace them with the same ones, I just went to a hardware store and bought the little rubber stick-on feet that you could put on the bottom of furniture or a TV stand or whatever. Cost all of about 99 cents and worked perfectly.
They looked something like this:
A: I just got back from the Genius bar and actually had the exact same issue. I had two feet fail, both having different attachment methods. The foot under the upper left of the keyboard was attached without any adhesive, the foot had plastic "feet" that "snapped" into a black metal piece attached to the bottom case. The foot under the lower left of the keyboard was attached with adhesive to the outside of the bottom case and further secured with an additional plastic ring running along the inside of the bottom case (this ring broke apart from the foot in addition to the adhesive failing on my machine).
I went to the local Genius bar and the cost of the bottom case ended up being covered by apple care. Even if apple care had not covered the bottom case, the bottom case was only $38.89.
A: You can find a set of 4 replacement feet (along with other Mac replacement parts) at PowerBook Medic
A: They sell the set of 4 here. You can also get a single foot.
http://www.pbparts.com/shop.php//0761398.html
A: You might be able to get some from Apple, I would try there first. Otherwise I do not believe there is an vendor for them.
You could consider molding some foam feet, or custom making your own. Otherwise just deal with it. I've seen several people who either made their own substitute or gone without.
A: It has been a few years since I had to replace any of the feet on my laptops (the current ones are pretty well attached), but they used to provide them for free at Apple retail stores if you asked at the Genius Bar. They probably have them now unless they are bonded to the bottom case.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1115",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "12"
} |
Q: No video from Mac Mini, ONLY once OS X has loaded I have an old G4 Mac Mini, running 10.5. It's hooked up to a VGA CRT monitor using Apples DVI-to-VGA adapter that was included once upon a time. Last night, while using it, the screen flickered, and the monitor went to sleep, which is it;s default behavior when there's no display connected to it. Attempting to force the monitor on displayed a "No Signal" error. Restarting the machine does nothing.
This has happened once before. The last time this happened, I attempted to fix it by resetting the PRAM. After doing this, the Mac output the standard grey screen with an Apple logo on startup, but when the system reached the OS X login screen, the monitor flickers and goes black. Attempting to boot in Safe Mode provides similar results. The Monitor is old enough that it does not offer an "Out of Range" error for unsupported refresh rates, but I took a chance and attempted the Single User Mode directions found in this Knowledge Base article, to delete windowserver.plist files. The last time this happened (about 6 months ago), that worked perfectly.
Last night, the same problem occurred, with the same symptoms. Does not display video in Safe Mode. Does display video in Single User Mode. However, after deleting the two windowserver.plist files, the machine is still unable to display video past the grey startup screen.
Is there anything else I can try to fix this? Is the DVI-to-VGA adapter a possible culprit for a cheap fix? Or is my Mini in need of enough repair as to be better off replaced?
Edit: It's definitely not the DVI to VGA adapter, sadly.
A: The 1st thing you have to do is try to determine if it’s merely a software issue with your OS install or if the problem relies on the hardware (whether it’s the screen or the computer itself).
In order to facilitate that task, you must check the obvious.
1) The DVI adapter (already tested).
2) The Screen. Can you hook the monitor to another computer?
3) Can you hook another monitor to the same computer?
Extras: Have you tried another VGA cable?
The above should result in any of the following:
a) The screen is defective, change screen.
b) The Mac mini has a hardware issue where no other screen works. Time for repairs (probably not worth).
c) The Cable is defective, change cable.
d) The screen works fine on another computer, the Mac mini works fine with another display. what…?
In case of D, there could be a problem with the software instead, either the driver that the Mac mini is using when it detects the display is broken or the video driver or something. That’s a whole new world and -as already suggested- you might want to try booting from the install CD/DVD and trying to see if video works there. Back up your drive and a full reinstall might also help you have everything fresh.
Hope it helps. I know it’s a lot of obvious steps, but this is how the tech guys do it :) Find the problem first.
UPDATE:
After reading that the Mac mini doesn’t work with a different screen and that this issue happens before login screen (i.e. it’s not ‘user’ related), there are two possible ideas you can try before a complete OS reinstall.
You mention that it works in Single User but not safe mode; given that Single User goes straight to the command line, have you tried running fsck on the partition? Maybe there’s some data corruption in the OS X volume.
Safe Mode doesn’t load external drivers and items in the StartupFolders, so that should work and I find it weird that it doesn’t. Of course make sure you unplug all external devices (sans keyboard/mouse/display) before diagnosing a problem like this.
In any case, I’d try to install a fresh copy of OS X on an external drive (if you don’t want to wipe your internal copy) and see what happens from there. If the external copy works, then the OS X copy has a big problem. I know this is obvious (and it’s already in your list of things to do) but sadly debugging a problem like this without access to the OS/hardware is really hard. You can always later clone the freshly installed OS X to your internal drive to avoid the reinstall in the internal drive.
Good Luck!
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: Is there a way to always ignore a particular wifi network on your iPhone There is a certain wifi network that am around a lot. It is very slow and pretty much unusable. I would rather just never see it. As it is, it pops up every time asking me to join. Is there a way that I can have that particular network only never ask again.
A: The only way to do this would be to set "Ask to Join Networks" [sic] to OFF in your iPhone wifi settings.
I find this to be preferable. The main consequence is that, when you are in some place new, you'll have to manually select an available wifi network. But once you HAVE joined a network, it'll automatically join it when next available. And (more germane to your question) it WON'T ever join a network that you haven't explicitly joined.
A: You can set it to "forget" a network and not auto-connect to it, but I do not believe there is a way to completely ignore a network.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1118",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "5"
} |
Q: Where are the default system icons for folders and files stored? Where are the default/system icons for folders and files stored?
A: The default icons are stored in various locations inside /System/Library - is there a specific icon you're looking for?
Finder.app (/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources) has the Smart Folder icons and the Burnable folder icons for example.
Most of the more known icons (eg. pictures for the default folders among many others) can be found at /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: Dashboard takes few seconds to update widgets I love the idea of the Dashboard, but there's one thing that pretty much kills it for me. When I activate Dashboard for a first time or after some extended period of time it takes it 3-15 seconds to update and actually show me things like time, calendar etc. I have a MacBook Pro and this is happening with default widgets (clock, calendar, calculator and weather). The entire idea of a dashboard that it's always one click away and the information should be available immediately.
So, does anyone know how to make OS X to update Dashboard widgets immediately or maybe somehow prefetch the data once every 15 min or so? Or does anyone else see this problem at all?
A: The solution comes from a System Preference pane called Dashboard Kickstart.
This application runs in the background and reacts to the starting or re-starting of the Dock. When that happens it initiates the starting of the Dashboard. This prevents the delay you'll experience when launching Dashboard the first time you want to use it.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1125",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: Force a change to a program's key bindings Is it possible to force a change to a program's keybindings? E.g., instead of an menu action being invoked by Cmd-J it's Cmd-K?
The reason I ask is that Cmd-Q in Firefox drives me nuts. I occasionally hit it instead of Cmd-W (to close a tab) & I have to wait for my entire instance of Firefox to stop & then restart. I'd love to bind "Quit" to something ridiculous (or remove it all together).
My hope is this is in a resource file that's easily hacked?
A: No resource file hacking necessary; it's all built in to the GUI. And not only that, but Apple's even documented it:
*
*Using global keyboard shortcuts
*Creating keyboard shortcuts for applications
(the above assumes you're on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, but everyone with a supported system should be by now.)
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1127",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: iPad case that blocks buttons Does anyone know of an iPad case that blocks access to the physical buttons. I would like the user to not be able to hit the homembutton or the sleep button.
A: there not cases on the market yet, I guess.
But you do can use your creativity and made the case yourself;)
For example like that:
http://carrypad.com/2010/04/15/how-to-make-an-ipad-booksafe-case/
A: BubCap home button covers block the home button and work with both iPhone and iPad:
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1132",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "2"
} |
Q: iPhone 3GS screen repair I dropped my iPhone earlier today. The screen is now full of cracks but the phone still functioning. Is there any cases of DIY style repair being performed? Can anyone share their repair steps for this?
A: I went through this myself a couple of weeks ago. Stupid tile floor in my office wouldn't catch my phone at 9.81m/s2. I ended up taking my phone into a mobile repair shop and had them replace the screen (voiding my warranty in the process), but was a hell of a lot cheaper than doing it myself. Took all of about 15 minutes.
Your profile doesn't list where you live, but any Apple Authorized repair shop can do it for you (or send it away for repair if they can't do it in house).
That said, it is possible to do the repair yourself. iPhone 3GS glass replacement kits can easily be purchased on eBay and from any other number of resellers. The process for doing it yourself isn't easy, but depending on your own level of handiness, you could do it yourself.
There are some excellent video guides for DIY iPhone glass replacement on YouTube. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mboB8p-sdw
A: eBay is a great option for repair kits, you can get them sent globally no matter where you are. Unless perhaps if you are a Nigerian businessman....
Otherwise you can choose an aftermarket iPhone screen repair service, if you are in Perth then www.buddhaiphonerepair.com is a fantastic way to go.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1135",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "3"
} |
Q: Where is my crontab file? I want to edit my crontab file to schedule a script. Where do I find it?
A: It should be noted that if you aren't accustomed to using vim (the default crontab editor) then you can specify your editor as follows:
VISUAL=nano crontab -e
A: The OS X way is to use launchctl to run jobs at a time.
For ease of use there are GUIs called Launch Control and Lingon.
A: In Mac OS X Lion the user crontabs are stored in /var/at/tabs. In the past they were located in /var/cron/tabs.
You should use crontab -e to interact with these in general, but knowing the location is useful for when you want to restore them from a backup of your disk, or something similar.
Updated 2022-01:
*
*/var is a link to /private/var/.
*/usr/lib/cron is a link to /var/at.
The real primary directory is /private/var/at with the crontab files being stored in /private/var/at/tabs
A: If you don't want to use launchd, you can edit your crontab as you would do on any unix systems :
crontab -e
Or, you can use a GUI software like CronniX.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1136",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "35"
} |
Q: How can I add some html to my Mail.app signature? I want to add my company logo and and some juice to my contact information in the signature part in Mail.app. How can I do that with little or no efforts?
A: It's not a huge effort to go through, but it does involve a little effort on your part. I haven't tried this myself (though will try it shortly just out of interest), but the basic principle seems to be to make a .webarchive file and drag it into the signatures preference box.
Worked example
eHow article
MacWorld example
I went and tried this and it does work in the current version of Mail.app, on Snow Leopard. The trick is essentially;
*
*Create a .webarchive of your desired signature.
Bear in mind that any graphics you put in there need to be graphics that are out on the 'open web', rather than references to files on your own computer etc. I think it's this bit that catches a lot of people out.
*Go into Mail and go through the motions of creating a new signature.
In the Library/Mail/Signatures folder you'll see Mail creating a new file with a guid-like filename (eg 61F51203-5C18-4061-A8EF-F53B17C41476.webarchive). Make a note of this filename!
*Close down Mail, and replace the contents of that signature file
with your webarchive file.
The best way of doing that is;
*
*Paste your webarchive file into the same folder (eg rob.webarchive), then highlight the new file that Mail created and press return - the filename should become selected for you.
*Press cmd-c to copy this filename, and then alter the filename (eg add 'old-' to the front of the name). Press Return to close the 'name editing' session.
*Now select your own webarchive file (eg rob.webarchive), and again press return to edit the name. Now cmd-v in the name you copied from the first file, and press Return to close the editing.
*When you restart Mail, the new signature you've made will be available.
Gotchas include;
*
*you're linking to images, CSS files or whatever that are not available on the internet,
*you're not composing your message in 'rich text' form.
But I've just been through this and even though I have no use whatsoever for a HTML signature, it does work. :-)
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1138",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "7"
} |
Q: Is it possible to sync Google Chrome bookmarks with Safari? Is it possible to sync Google Chrome bookmarks with Safari?
A: Use Xmarks worked OK for me except for Firefox where it duplicated the book marks each time I used it.
Althougn now in Mavericks or because of a later version of Firefox it works
A: Another solution: on Windows machine install iCloud Control Panel (http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1455) and check option "Bookmarks" which sync your iCloud Safari bookmarks with Chrome, IE and Firefox.
P.S. Yes, for this solution necessarily need a machine with Windows
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1141",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "10"
} |
Q: How can I change the country of an iTunes account? When I first set up my iTunes account, I didn't have a credit card, so I set it up as a US account, as this was the only way I could create one without a card (and thus use my iPod Touch).
The downside of this is that now that I am trying to add a credit card to my iTunes account, I can't, because it insists on a state and zip code for part of the address, which my Irish credit card obviously doesn't have.
So how can I switch the country of my iTunes account?
A: To change stores you can do so on the iTunes Store:
*
*Click on your Account in the iTunes Store to go to your Account Page.
*Click "Change Country or Region".
*Choose your Country or Region:
Another alternative is to use Apple's Manage your Apple ID site and change your address - next time you use iTunes it will ask you to change your region and verify your address details.
A: I search some and find this video I think it is helpful but most notice it's not test on iTunes 10 you must try it yourself and tell the result.
here is the link of video
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1150",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "19"
} |
Q: How can I check the model of my Apple computer? Is there a way that I check the model number of my Apple computer? (For example, iMac9,1.)
A: System Profiler
In the left corner of the top menu, pick the apple menu and select About This Mac.
In the About This Mac panel, click the More Info... button. This starts the System Profiler.
On the first page (Hardware Overview) there is a Model Identifier, which is the name you are interested in.
| {
"language": "en",
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"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: Is it possible to reduce the disk space required to install Mac OS X 10.6? I was hoping to install Mac OS X on a flash-based drive I have, but it's only 4GB. The installer tells me there's not enough free space, but it doesn't specify how much I need free.
*
*Does anyone know the exact minimum?
*Is it possible to create a custom install with only the bare basics and install within 4GB?
A: The minimum install that comes off the DVD is ~6 gigabytes. If you want to make a smaller install, the easiest thing to do is install it on another partition, trim down the installation, then copy it over to the target drive using ditto or Carbon Copy Cloner.
Though I do not recommend doing any of these, there are a couple of thing installed in the default system that can be trimmed out to save space:
*
*All app binaries are installed 2 way fat (32 bit Intel, 64 bit Intel), and you can conceivably remove 32 bit Intel. The only Intel Macs shipped that do not support 64 bit userspace are the original MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and MacBook 2006. You can use a program like Xslimmer to do this.
*All frameworks are installed 3 way fat (32 bit and 64 bit Intel, and 32 bit PPC). The PPC bits are there for Rosetta even if you do not have the emulator installled. You can remove PPC if you are not going to use any appc apps. Again, Xslimmer does this.
*All Mac OS X installs include the complete set of drivers necessary for all Macs supported by that OS at the time it shipped. A number of drives may not be necessary for your particular Machine, and could be trimmed out, but doing so is moderately complicated.
*If you have multiple localization installed you can remove them. Xslimmer can do this, as can Monolingual.
*If yo are really gutsy you can build an mkext and delete OS X's drivers directory entirely. An mkext is a bundle of kexts generally used as part of netbooting, but the bootloader can use it to boot off a normal disk as well. It will omit any driver not needed to boot a system, and be trimmed down to a single architecture. On my system that would save ~300MB. If the full drivers aren't there, then some devices might not work, but anything needed to boot should be.
*You can start deleting programs in /Applications, but the system assumes those are there, some stuff may not work properly.
*Disk Utility by default leaves extra space for certain things on drives larger than a certain size. It is documented here. On a 4GB drive there there is ~328 MBs lost that way.
200MB of it is for the ESP partition. The ESP is scratch space used under rare circumstances for the boot process. Removing it might cause difficulties installing firmware updates, but it probably won't, and you probably won't notice it.
There is also 128MB of unformatted space after the HFS+ partition. That is that there to aid in LVM operations (resizing partitions), and may be necessary in certain edge cases when running the installer (if the installer needs a chunk of contiguous space for something that is not a normal file during an OS upgrade, and it can't find the space within the FS it can extend it). You can probably get rid of it, but it might make it difficult to run the installer directly against the drive. Of course, given what you have to do to get 10.6 onto the drive, the odds that you could just run a 10.7 updater against when that comes out seem very low anyway.
In order to layout the drive this way you will need to hand build the partition map with the commandline gpt tool.
Having said that, the above will probably not trim down OS X enough to fit into a 4GB flash drive. Even if it did, OS X needs some temporary space (a couple hundred megs) to work, and by default that is on the boot drive. While it is conceivable you could write a boot script to find a drive inside the system and use it for temp space (point /private/tmp there, and setting the up the default pager), that is moderately complicated. I am guessing this is a recovery drive for a lab or something, in which case you don't want this install to perturb drives in the system it boots. If you need to boot on a range of machines it also means trimming out drivers is substantially more complicated and limited.
Ultimately, you are much better off just buying a 8GB flash drive. That is large enough to clone a normal installation, and will save you days of work.
A: I don't know what the absolute minimum is. Isn't it written on the DVD box?
However, there are obviously stuff that you can remove from the install to regain several hundred megabytes. I'm not sure you can fit Snow Leopard in 4 GB, though. 8 GB should be feasible.
*
*Additional languages and application architectures are not necessary and are pretty huge (string them using Monolingual or something like that);
*The iLife apps (GarageBand, iPhoto, iMovie & iMovie HD, iDVD) and iTunes score more than 1 GB together;
There are probably many more you can strip off. My call would be to make another partition on your primary drive (maybe 15-20 GB), install Mac OS there and try to remove stuff until it gets under 4 GB. Then, copy it to your drive with Carbon Copy Cloner and it should be bootable.
A: Another factor no one thinks about is how much RAM you have in your computer, because if you have 2GB RAM, a bootable USB drive with Mac OS X is going to create a 2GB virtual memory swap file on the drive. It will be stored in
/private/var/vm/sleepimage
You can delete this file but the next time your reboot, it will be re-created.
If you run the same USB drive on a computer with 8GB of RAM, its' going to try to create an 8GB swap file. So your 4GB installation could balloon to 12GB of disk space the first time you use it.
There is a method out there somewhere to permanently disable the sleepimage file. This means that whenever you boot from the USB drive, it will only use RAM and will not cache the contents of ram to the sleepimage file. This might have an adverse effect on system performance, but you will be able to run your system on a smaller USB drive.
A: I just scanned /Library and /System and /usr with GrandPerspective to find big files. Here is my findings:
662 Mb /Library/Printers
52 Mb /Library/Fonts/STHeiti Medium.ttc
58 Mb /Library/Dictionaries/Shogakukan Progressive English-Japanese...
382 Mb /System/Library/Speech/Voices/Alex.SpeechVoice
52 Mb /System/Library/Fonts/STHeiti Light.ttc
34 Mb /System/Library/Fonts/Aqua Kana.ttc
In total 1.2 Gb. I guess these files can be safely deleted if it's for an USB stick.
A: When installing Mac OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard" you can click "Customize" and remove Printer Support, Additional Fonts, Language Translations, Rosetta, X11 and Quicktime. That eliminates 3+ GB and leaves 'Essential System Software' which requires 8.01 GB.
If you want to get it on a smaller drive you won't be able to use the Install CD. You'll have to delete even more and then make an exact copy.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1160",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "7"
} |
Q: What are the key differences between the Shazam and Soundhound Apps? Both seem to do roughly the same thing. What, if anything, are the relevant differences?
A: Don't know if there are really major differences that set one far apart from the other.
One of the bigger differentiators is that Soundhound claims to recoginze songs that are hummed and/or sung by the user.
From a purely opinion oriented view, I've had better success with Soundhound at identifying songs than Shazam - but both do the job pretty well. Soundhound also seems to be quicker at returning results for me than Shazam. Again, that's just my own experience and I've, by no means, done exhaustive testing between the two.
Shazam seems to have better search but Soundhound can search by lyrics.
A: Here's a great video about SoundHound vs. Shazam that should help answer your question:
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1162",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "6"
} |
Q: I've inadvertently deleted my thunderbird.dmg, does it matter? I've inadvertently deleted my thunderbird.dmg & then emptied the trash. Doh!
Is there any way I can restore that particular file?
I'm running Mac OS X Version 10.6.4 on a macbook pro.
A: If the file is in the Trash, you can just drag it back out. However, once you remove the item from the Trash it's as good as gone*. Why not just download it again?
* there are some programs that claim to be able to restore deleted data, but the chances of recovering a large file like a DMG on the system drive are virtually nonexistent
A: "Re-downloading thunderbird.dmg has fixed my issue"
That sounds a lot like you are running Thunderbird from the .dmg (Disk iMaGe) file. As someone else mentioned, you don't have to do this, and the application will launch faster if you don't.
Drag the Thunderbird icon from the .dmg to your Applications folder (there might be a shortcut to the Applications folder in the .dmg itself) and then drag the icon from your Applications folder to the Dock. Then you can click on the icon on the Dock and Thunderbird will open directly without having to open and unpack the .dmg file.
You can then delete the .dmg and not have any problems. Your emails are stored in your home folder not in the application or the .dmg (as you discovered).
A: You have the best chance of recovering your deleted files if you scan your Mac immediately after realizing that you have deleted files that you need. otherwise
your files are gone. in your case, the unix(Darwin in yourcase) filesystem has already written over significant portions of those files.
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/faq/part3/section-6.html
"For all intents and purposes, when
you delete a file with "rm" it is
gone. Once you "rm" a file, the system
totally forgets which blocks scattered
around the disk were part of your
file. Even worse, the blocks from the
file you just deleted are going to be
the first ones taken and scribbled
upon when the system needs more disk
space. However, never say never. It is
theoretically possible if you shut
down the system immediately after the
"rm" to recover portions of the data.
However, you had better have a very
wizardly type person at hand with
hours or days to spare to get it all
back."
in this case, finder trashing equals "rm"
How To Recover Accidentally Deleted Files:
If you are attempting to recover files from the Trash, note the following: If you've emptied the Trash or deleted the files with the rm (remove) command, your files and data is recoverable IF you STOP using your Mac right now. This is particularly true if you are currently running low on disk space. The Mac OS X overwrites this little free space very quickly with temp files.
Next, you can try to recover deleted Trash files on your Mac using a good recovery program. The best 2 are Data Rescue 3 and Stellar Mac Data Recovery - (free download).
and for what doing with this app you can follow this tutorial.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1163",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "5"
} |
Q: Adding MP3s to iTunes 10 doesn't work for some files I have recently upgraded to iTunes 10. I had some MP3 files which I would like to add to the library. In the past I have dragged the folder into the iTunes "Library" section which has added all the songs, but this time it only added the last two songs of a ~20 song album. Adding the files individually does not work either, and "File > Add to Library" does the same thing (only adds two of the songs).
Is this a known issue, and is there a workaround?
A: In many cases, improper tagging causes the files to go weird places. I suggest you create a smart playlist that shows you “new added” stuff:
I usually have the same problem with mp3 with dubious tagging.
A: Upgrading for me made iTunes forget where the music library was (I use an external HD)... putting back the directory fixed it for me.... goto advanced settings, iTunes Media folder location, change... select media folder "iTunes Library". If you don't know where your songs are exactly then right-click on a song and "show in finder", that will give you an idea.
I was able to add mp3's etc to itunes after that... :)
A: It seems like the issue was related to improperly encoded files. I'm not sure if it was the container layout that was malformed or if the audio was incorrectly encoded, or even if it was just in a format that iTunes could not understand, but re-encoding the files as MP3 allowed them to be read by iTunes.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1167",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "5"
} |
Q: How do I install an application from a .dmg disk image? I've downloaded Firefox and it's now sitting on my desktop as Firefox.dmg. When I double click on Firefox.dmg it opens up a window with Firefox in it so I can use it - does this mean the application has been installed?
Community Wiki'd the question because I think it's a worthwhile question to have on the site for pointing people to, it's not exactly intuitive to do and not a question I think I deserve any rep from.
A: Usually applications that are distributed on .dmg files can be installed in different ways depending on how they are packed. After you double click on a disk image, I've observed these two common scenarios. It opens a window and:
*
*You see the application itself and a shortcut to Applications folder. You just need to drag the application and drop it in Applications shortcut icon. It gets copied to Applications folder and first time you run it, it warns you that it's the first time you are running the app and it's been downloaded from Internet. After you click on OK, it won't ask you that question again.
*You see the application's icon (and sometimes some readme files that explains how to install or update the app). After you double click on the application icon, it starts an installer that walks you through installing the app.
In either case after you are finished with installing the app, you can right click on the disk image on the desktop and select Eject. The disk image will disappear but the .dmg file remains wherever you downloaded it. It's safe to remove the .dmg file then.
A: DMG is short for disk image, a format which is commonly used in OS X to install a software.
Another possibility is to use packges (.pkg) which are installed using the OS X Installer.
DMG Images are like customizable folders that cannot only contain the application itself but also other files. Most often, a custom background is used and you're presented with an option to drag/copy - and thus install - the application in OSX. That's it. You copy by dragging to...
*
*... /Applications to install for all users
*... ~/Applications to install for yourself only (~ is the home directory)
Uninstallation
As you may guess, the uninstallation is done simply by dragging the application from it's current location in (~)/Applications to the Trash. There will still remain some related files (settings, cache,...) of that application on your computer, but they generally do not take up much space. You can use third-party software to help you automatically find and remove such data.
A: Applications that are distributed on disk images (.dmg files) are designed to be installed using drag and drop. You can safely drag and drop the application from the virtual drive into your Applications folder and use it from your Applications folder. After copying it to your Applications folder it's safe to eject the virtual drive and delete the disk image file.
Nearly all applications will work just fine running off that virtual hard drive as they store their content in your user folder (eg. browsers, mail applications, etc.). It will however stop you from running application updates as the disk image is read only.
| {
"language": "en",
"url": "https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/1171",
"timestamp": "2023-03-29T00:00:00",
"source": "stackexchange",
"question_score": "18"
} |
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