Using the lsof command, we can find out exactly what process or application is using a specified file at that given moment. This is similar to the opensnoop command, but rather than watching the changes to a file over time, lsof can give us a snapshot of this very moment, which can be helpful for … Read More

Advanced Mac OS X users may find it useful to know that KEXT (kernel extensions) can be manually installed. The process of installing kexts manually into OS X is not too difficult if you’re comfortable with the command line, but it is a multi-step process of copying the appropriate .kext file to the appropriate kernel … Read More

On some fresh OS X installations, you’ll find the user name or login appears in the upper right corner of the menu bar, even if there is only one user account on the Mac. This is actually a feature called Fast User Switching, and the name likely appears in the menu bar due to the … Read More

Ever wondered how to make a zip file in Mac OS X? We recently demonstrated how to password protect zip archives, but in the comments a reader asked a more simple yet completely valid question: “what about just making a standard zip file?” Well, making a zip archive on a Mac is easy, and with … Read More

The root user is a special user account with high level system-wide access privileges intended for system administration, monitoring, and in depth troubleshooting purposes. By default, root user is disabled in Mac OS X for security purposes, but if you need to enable superuser, this guide will show you how to do so in OS … Read More

Creating a password protected zip file is easy in Mac OS X and does not require any add-ons or downloads. Instead, use the zip utility that is bundled with all Macs. This offers a simple way to protect a zip archive file from unwanted viewing access, as when a user attempts to decompress the contents … Read More

Like any longtime Apple fan, I’m a sucker for retro Apple gear, and this great reader submitted Mac setup jumps across over three decades of Apple hardware, showing the evolution of all-in-one hardware from the late 1980’s to today. Macintosh SE/30 from 1989 iMac 233MHz from 1999 iMac 24″ from 2008 iPhone 4 from 2010 … Read More

Kext files are kernel extensions for Mac OS X, typically these are device drivers for hardware like the graphics card, wireless card, printers, etc. Most Mac users have no need to directly interact with .kext files, but for those who do, installing them can be annoying. Sure you can install .kext files manually by digging … Read More

The Dock disappears whenever an app is put into Mac OS X full screen mode, but that doesn’t mean you can’t access the Dock if you need it. To show the Dock in a full screen app, swipe twice at the bottom of the screen, the first swipe won’t show anything but the second swipe … Read More

The Mac OS X Terminal includes a great feature that lets you quickly access new manual pages from any existing Terminal window.

Typically we try to just post workstations for Mac setups, but Rejean H sent in pictures of what amounts to a giant collection of Macs built up over the years, and we just had to post it. Ranging from some of the first Macs to be released, to the Macintosh Portable, Mac Classic, 20th Anniversary … Read More

We recently showed you where iOS apps are stored locally on the computer, but if you just want to quickly access that folder or get to a single app in the Mac OS X Finder, you can do so with a right-click within iTunes: Open iTunes and click on “Apps” under the library listing Right-click … Read More

The Back and Forward buttons in Mac OS X Finder work much like their respective buttons in Safari or another browser, meaning not only do they go page or forward within the file system, but now Finder windows also track folder browsing history. After you’ve visited several folders, click and hold on the Back button … Read More

This Mac setup scene depicts what many of us will be doing this weekend; lounging around the Christmas tree with a warm drink and some Apple gear. On the left looks like a MacBook Pro 13″ and the right appears to be a white MacBook, both in the holiday spirit. I came across this great … Read More

Need to resize a ton of pictures on a Mac? Instead of downloading a third party application or using Preview, you can use Automator to handle the entire operation, even renaming the images to indicate they have been resized to a new resolution. Automator is included in every Mac OS X installation’s /Applications/ folder and … Read More

Firefox 9 has just been released for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. The latest version brings some significant boosts to javascript performance, some theme fixes, and a variety of other under-the-hood enhancements. Probably the most noticeable addition will be for OS X Lion users though, with the addition of two-fingered swipe gesture navigation. Download … Read More

A helpful command line tool called hdiutil is included in Mac OS X that allows disk image files (.dmg extension) to be mounted directly from the Terminal, without the need of using the GUI. Using hdiutil for such a task is helpful for scripting or remote connections through SSH.

This reader submitted Mac setup features a dual use Mac Mini and a MacBook Pro, as well as a bunch of great iOS gear. The Mac Mini connects to a TV to function as a digital hub for the household, alternating between the 32″ TV shown in the picture and a 55″ HDTV in another … Read More