OS X Mavericks comes with PHP 5.4.30, and OS X Mountain Lion ships with PHP 5.3.13 preinstalled, though if you start the built-in Apache server, you will find PHP isn’t enabled by default. Changing this is easy, and if you’re a web developer and want PHP running on your local Mac with OS X 10.8 or later, follow along to have it working in no time.
Inverting the colors of a Mac display is a fairly common accessibility feature, and it’s also pretty handy for when you’re reading at night because it puts most screen text into a white on black mode like iOS. Read more »
There are a variety of different ways to transfer or share files between Macs, and we’ll cover the three easiest methods that are applicable for just about movement of files. AirDrop is unique to newer versions of Mac OS but is by far the simplest, iMessages lets you send files to another Mac over the internet, and the third approach using AFP works with every version of Mac OS X ever shipped, so even if you’re trying to copy a file from an old Mac running Tiger to a newer one with MacOS Catalina or Mac OS X Yosemite, you’ll be able to get it done.
Quick Look is one of the most handy features in Mac OS X to quickly get a preview of files, but you can also use it as an application launcher of sorts to quickly send a file to the file types default app, or even launch the file into another compatible Mac app.
Used this way, it is sort of similar to the “Open With” menu that can be summoned by right-clicking on a file within the Finder, but Quick Look gets the upper hand because it provides a preview of the file in question.
Here’s how to use this handy feature within Quick Look on the Mac, allowing you to open a file into another app directly from the handy file preview:
If you are tired of keeping up with all the Java security updates and potential vulnerabilities, you can avoid a potential problem completely just by disabling Java.
Whether you want to turn off Java system-wide or just in all of your web browsers for some added security, here is exactly how to do each of those tasks with Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or universally in all versions of Mac OS X.
This weeks extremely impressive Mac setup comes to us from Albert M., a contracts attorney by day who is a serious amateur photographer in his spare time. With a range of powerful Apple hardware, tons of storage, and one of the best DSLR cameras around, this is one of those ultimate setups that could handle just about any task in style. From left to right you’ll find:
Would you like to have your Mac setup featured? Send in a good picture or two, a list of hardware, and a brief description of what you use the gear for to osxdailycom@gmail.com
Foxbrowser is a new web browser for iPad that’s basically Firefox for iOS – though not officially – thanks to an open source fork broken off from Mozillas abandoned FireFox Home app. It’s surprisingly fast and best of all has full support for the convenient Firefox Sync feature, keeping your tabs, bookmarks, and history the same across all your Firefox browsers be them on the desktop in OS X, at work in Windows or Linux, or right on the iPad in Foxbrowser.
Other nice features of Foxbrowser include:
Start screen shows the most visited websites from history
Up to 8 simultaneous open tabs
See and access open tabs from other browsers equipped with Firefox Sync
Real time search of browser history, tabs, and bookmarks
Some of these features are also in Safari for iOS so long as you use Safari 6 on a Mac, but for those of us who also use Firefox on a PC or Mac the FireFox Sync support is extremely useful.
Foxbrowser is for iPad only and offers a good solution until Mozilla gets back onboard with a full-fledged Firefox for iOS app. Nice find by LifeHacker!
Did you know OS X Mountain Lion includes 44 ridiculously beautiful high resolution wallpapers? They’re hidden inside the four equally attractive new screen savers and feature some truly stunning scenery from National Geographic, the Hubble Space telescope, and some amazing photographers.
Each image is a whopping 3200×2000 resolution, here’s how to access these on your Mac:
From the OS X Finder, hit Command+Shift+G to summon Go To Folder and enter the following path exactly:
Copy the four well-labeled directories “1-National Geographic”, “2-Aerial”, “3-Cosmos”, “4-Nature Patterns” to the Desktop or elsewhere for easy access to the high res images
Set them as your wallpaper and enjoy
A few thumbnail previews are shown below, but you really need to check them out yourself in full resolution, they’re stunning. Read more »
Many people have noticed the simple web sharing option was pulled from System Preferences in OS X Mavericks and Mountain Lion. The server software still exists and you can start Apache server on your Mac yourself within a minute or two of mucking about in the Terminal, but for some people the command line is just too much of a hassle.
If you’d rather have an easier approach to starting the hidden web server in Mac OS X, grab a free third party preference with the most obvious name ever, WebSharing.
Did you know the Finder in Mac OS X has a built-in instant image slide-show feature? It’s part of Quick Look, and though it’s been around a while, it’s a little known feature that is really great when you want to quickly show off a group of pictures, or even if you just want to take a single picture into full-screen mode without having to launch an app like Preview.
Got an iOS 6 or iOS 5 device? You’re in luck because you can play YouTube videos in the background of iOS and hear the audio while you perform other tasks on the device, just like you can with any other music player on an iPhone or iPad.
Rebooting a Mac from the command line is fairly simple, though it should be pointed out that most Mac OS X users are best served just using the standard Apple menu method to issue a system restart.
Nonetheless, for advanced Mac users, using the terminal reboot command can be an invaluable trick for troubleshooting purposes, remote systems administration, remote management through SSH, after installing software updates on a Mac through the command prompt, and a great number of other reasons.
When you’re stuck staring at the grey lens shutter graphic for 5 to 10 seconds before you can even take a picture, you’ve likely already missed the shot you were hoping to get. Obviously the quickest way to access the iPhone camera is using the lock screen camera swipe instead of manually launching the Camera app, but what if both methods take a long time to open? Read more »
Apple has released an update to Java aimed at addressing the recently discovered security issue that could impact some Mac users. The update, dubbed “Java for OS X 2012-005”, is available for users of Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8. All Mac users eligible for the update are recommended to install it.
You can download the Java update through Software Update, the Mac App Store, or directly from Apple. OS X Lion and Mountain Lion onward do not automatically bundle Java, meaning if you don’t see a Java update available you don’t have it installed on your Mac. If you did manually install Java yourself, you will see the update available though.
Apple describes the update as follows:
Java for OS X 2012-005 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_35.
This update configures the Java plug-in to deactivate when no applets are run for an extended period of time. If the prior update named “Java for OS X 2012-004” was not installed, this update will disable the Java web plug-in immediately. Java applets may be re-enabled by clicking the region labeled “Inactive plug-in” on a web page.
Please quit any web browsers and Java applications before installing this update.
Last week, Oracle released a Java 7u7 update to patch the problem for SE 7 as well. The updates from Apple address security issues for both Java 6 and Java 7.
With a new iPhone just around the corner, plenty of us will be looking to sell our current models to upgrade to the latest and greatest. If you’re in the same boat, or you just want to sell your iPhone for another reason, there are three particularly good places to do so: Amazon, Apple, and Craigslist. We’ll discuss each and why some options may be better than the other for you.
For top dollar, Amazon is where it’s at. The iPhone 4S fetches up to $500, and even the iPhone 4 16GB model will get a hefty $270 through Amazon’s trade-in service. The only potential caveat with Amazon’s trade-in program is you’ll end up with the value in Amazon store credit, which could be good or bad depending on how often you shop at Amazon.
Apple accepts trade-ins through their recycling program, and in return you’ll get an Apple gift card. If you’re looking to buy a new Apple product this is undoubtedly the most convenient option, but Apple pays quite a bit less than Amazon and you’ll get more cash by throwing it on Craigslist. Sometimes you pay for convenience though, and Apple makes it very easy so there’s something to be said for that.
To get the most cold hard cash for your iPhone, it’s hard to beat Craigslist. Sure there are a lot of tire-kickers and you’ll get some junky emails while you sort through buyers, but there is no better way to get immediate cash than Craigslist. The prices of used iPhones vary on Craigslist by region and by model number, your best bet is to search for the phone you’d like to sell in your area and price it accordingly. If you want to sell it faster, price a bit lower than everyone else and it’ll go quick. In any major city, you should be able to get cash within the same day of posting the ad. Just remember to meet in a public place like a Starbucks to avoid any potential weird situations.
There’s also eBay but the prices tend to be lower after you factor in fees, BestBuy has a trade-in program but it isn’t too generous either, and both Verizon and AT&T will give you money for a used iPhone but like others they don’t pay you much. Using these other services is completely reasonable and many are very convenient especially if you’re heading to one of the stores anyway, just don’t expect to get the best value through them.
Wait! Increase the Value of Your iPhone by Unlocking
Before you sell, check if your iPhone is eligible for an unlock through AT&T or your cell carrier, and if so, be sure to unlock the device before putting it on the market. Unlocked iPhones command a premium on Craigslist and eBay because they can roam onto any other compatible GSM network just by popping in a new SIM card, making them more valuable on the international market and for anyone who travels frequently. You can easily add $100 or more to the value of an iPhone by unlocking it, and it can be done in just a matter of minutes by putting in an unlock request with AT&T’s web tech support.
Did we miss any other worthwhile options for selling your iPhone? Let us know in the comments.
Want to quickly dismiss a desktop notification without opening Notification Center in Mac OS X?
It’s easy, just hover over the notification with the cursor and use a two-fingered swipe gesture from left to right, swiping the alert to where Notification Center appears, and the alert will quickly zip away and off your Mac desktop in a blur. Read more »
Event Invitations are one of the best features of Calendars in iOS and OS X, and if you aren’t using them yet to confirm the time and dates of meetings and events with people you should start now. Once an invitation is sent, it comes through as an alert to the recipient, and they can either confirm the event time or suggest a different one. It’s probably the easiest way to help manage busy schedules, so here’s how to send out invitations from the Mac and on any iOS device:
Sending Event Invitations from iPhone & iPad
Launch Calendar
Create a new event or tap an existing one and Edit the event
Tap the “Invitees” button and search for the person(s) you want to invite to the event
Going back to the event you will see a list of people who have confirmed the invite, or those who haven’t yet responded to the invitation yet.
Inviting People to Events from Mac OS X
Launch Calendar (or iCal if you’re pre-10.8)
Create or Edit an existing event and click “Add Invitees”
Type the name of the person(s) to invite, click “Done” when finished and to send out the invites
You’ll also find an additional option under the invitee list called “Available Meeting Times” which provides a timeline based on when the recipient is available. If they share a calendar with you everything will be visible, otherwise just suggested meeting times will be visible.
As usual, all of these dates and times will sync automatically between your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac OS X calendars as long as you have iCloud set up properly.
The only potential downside to Calendar invitations? There will be no excuses for anyone to forget an event, be it date nights or those boring Thursday morning meetings.
Rebooting a Mac from the command line is fairly simple, though it should be pointed out that most Mac OS X users are best served just using the standard Apple menu method to issue a system restart. 
