Mac OS

Mac OS, Mac OS X, or macOS, is the operating system that resides on Apple’s desktop and portable computer lineup. Built upon a Unix core, it is easy to use yet highly advanced, extremely stable, and an excellent OS for productivity and creation. Browse through our articles or use the search feature to look for something specific that is pertinent to the Mac operating system.

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Where to Set Environment Variables on Mac

Jul 28, 2015 - 11 Comments
Terminal in macOS

At the command line, environmental variables are defined for the current shell and become inherited by any running command or process. They can determine anything from the default shell, the PATH, the users home directory, to the terminal emulation type, current working directory, where a history file is located, language and localization settings, and going … Read More

OS X El Capitan Beta 5 Released for Developer Testing

Jul 27, 2015 - 14 Comments
OS X El Capitan

Apple has released the fifth developer beta of OS X El Capitan to users participating in the Mac Developer Beta program.

How to Delete Old Backups from Time Machine on Mac

Jul 27, 2015 - 41 Comments
Time Machine in Mac OS X

If you use Time Machine to backup a Mac to an external drive, you may decide to manually delete old backups that are no longer needed. Yes, Time Machine does it’s own housekeeping, but sometimes users need to manually intervene. This can be for a variety of reasons, whether for simple removal of old backups, … Read More

How to Find Wi-Fi Network Passwords from Command Line on Mac

Jul 24, 2015 - 12 Comments
Terminal in macOS

Given the complexity of some wi-fi network passwords combined with the general infrequency of entering them and that they’re typically saved on use, it’s not terribly unusual to forget what a specific routers wireless password is. Fortunately, if you’re on a Mac, there are a few ways to go about finding those lost or forgotten … Read More

OS X El Capitan Public Beta 2 Released for Testing

Jul 22, 2015 - 27 Comments
OS X El Capitan

Apple has released the second Public Beta version of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to users participating in the testing program. The version closely matches the 4th developer beta, arriving as build 15A225f, and should offer notable bug fixes along with improvements to stability and performance compared to the first public beta release of El … Read More

Download Civilization V for Mac for Free, No Strings Attached

Jul 22, 2015 - 32 Comments
Civilization V mac screen shot

Want to download Civilization V for Mac, entirely for free? For a limited time, you can get Civilization V: Campaign Edition for OS X entirely for free with basically no strings attached, thanks to a giveaway sponsored by game-maker Aspyr and MacRumors.

OS X El Capitan 10.11 Beta 4 Released

Jul 21, 2015 - 9 Comments

Apple has released new beta versions of OS X 10.11 El Capitan for Mac users. The fourth developer beta arrives as build 15A226f and marches the operating system ever closer to a stable release later in the year. At the moment, the latest OS X 10.11 beta is only available to users in the Mac … Read More

13 Force Touch Trackpad Tricks & Shortcuts for Mac

Jul 20, 2015 - 7 Comments
The Mac trackpad

The new Force Touch trackpads available for some Macs are really quite impressive. By using a haptic feedback mechanism and a tiny little speaker, the pressure-sensitive trackpad mimics a click with multiple layers of depth by pushing feedback into your finger – the trackpad itself does not move or click down like the prior generation … Read More

Not Happy with OS X El Capitan? How to Send Feedback to Apple

Jul 20, 2015 - 13 Comments
Send Feedback to Apple about OS X Yosemite

OS X El Capitan (10.11) is part of an open Public Beta, which means that any user can opt-in to install and run the beta version of the future OS X system software on their Mac. This is a chance for Mac users to help shape the future of OS X, and a great way … Read More

Change the Mac System Font to the OS X El Capitan Font in OS X Yosemite

Jul 18, 2015 - 35 Comments
OS X EL Capitan

When the San Francisco type face first debuted it was made for the Apple Watch, but some enterprising Mac users modified the San Francisco font to run in OS X Yosemite anyway. Fast forward to now, and the San Francisco font has been revised by Apple to be a bit more readable for the Mac … Read More

How to Add Gatekeeper Exceptions from Command Line in Mac OS X

Jul 15, 2015 - 11 Comments
Terminal in macOS

Typically if you want to have an application launch approved by the GateKeeper feature on a Mac, you right-click on the unidentified developers application and choose “Open”, or go through System Preferences to bypass Gatekeeper that way. Another option is to manually add application approvals and exceptions to Gatekeeper by turning to the command line … Read More

How to Export Contacts from Mac OS X

Jul 14, 2015 - 20 Comments
Contacts

Contact information can be some of the most useful data to export and share with others, and a comprehensive address book can be amongst some of the most important data a user gathers over time. The Mac makes exporting contact information from Mac OS X Contacts app very easy, so whether you want to share … Read More

OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 Beta 1 Released for Testing

Jul 14, 2015 - 10 Comments
OS X Yosemite

Apple has released the first beta build of OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 to Mac developers and Public Beta users. The beta build arrives as 14F6a and is compatible with any Mac that is able to run OS X Yosemite.

How to Set Up Time Machine Backups in Mac OS X

Jul 12, 2015 - 49 Comments
How to setup Time Machine Backups in Mac OS X

Time Machine is an easy Mac backup solution built into Mac OS X that allows for automated continual backups of files, apps, and the operating system itself. Not only does Time Machine make it incredibly easy to maintain frequent automatic backups of a Mac, it also makes it equally simple to restore from a backup … Read More

OS X El Capitan Beta Supplemental Update Available to Fix App Crashing

Jul 10, 2015 - 25 Comments
OS X El Capitan

Apple has released a small supplemental update to OS X El Capitan Public Beta. The small update is available now from the Mac App Store Update mechanism and it fixes an issue that may cause some 32-bit applications to quit unexpectedly.

OS X El Capitan Public Beta 1 Available to Download & Install for Mac Users

Jul 9, 2015 - 39 Comments
OS X EL CAPITAN 10.11

Apple has released the first public beta version of OS X El Capitan (10.11). Any Mac user with an Apple ID and compatible Mac can choose to download and install the public beta, though due to the nature of beta system software, this is generally only recommended for advanced users.

OS X El Capitan Developer Beta 3 Released

Jul 8, 2015 - Leave a Comment
OS X El Capitan default desktop wallpaper

Apple has released the third developer beta version of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to registered developers.

How to Page Up & Page Down on Mac Keyboards

Jul 7, 2015 - 20 Comments
Mac keyboard

Many Mac users arriving from the land of Windows PC keyboards will notice that the Apple keyboards as well as those included on a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro do not have the standard “Page Up” and “Page Down” keys. This does not mean you can’t page up and page down on a Mac, … Read More

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