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.
The Retina MacBook Pro 15″ screen resolution is 2880×1800, but because of how a retina display works the effective resolution is 1440×900 and the onscreen elements are just running in HIDPI mode. Apple provides an option to run at 1920×1200 through System Preferences, but as of now there is no built-in approach to running the … Read More
If you travel internationally with a Mac or you split life between different parts of the world you can make your computing life easier by adjusting regional settings based on your current location. Mac OS X makes this very easy to do and you can switch from US to metric, change currency, and set the … Read More
We have covered a handful of different ways to disable the internal screen on a MacBook Pro/Air while keeping the laptops lid open and the computer turned on, ranging from a command line approach, dimming brightness or using sleep, and even a silly magnet trick, but for whatever reason there have always been a few … Read More
If you’ve ever entered a lengthy command into the terminal and upon execution discovered a syntax error, a “no such file or directory”, or “command not found” message because you made a typo, you’ll love this quick tip that lets you rerun the last executed command while replacing the erroneous syntax. You’ll need to be … Read More
Apple has posted an excellent walkthrough video showing off the some of the bigger new features of OS X Mountain Lion. The 5:30 video is embedded below, and although it doesn’t cover every one of the 200+ new features in Mac OS X 10.8, it shows off the highlights and is well worth watching if … Read More
Some of you may have experienced the unfortunate kernel panic on boot problem that is occurring on certain Macs after they’ve installed recent software updates. If you haven’t installed the “Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2” yet it’s best to avoid it completely until a fix comes from Apple. If it’s too late and you’re experiencing crashes … Read More
The annual Apple Design Awards were held at WWDC 2012, with the winners representing a great batch of apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS X. Whether you’re just looking for a couple new apps to try out or you’re wondering what type of design catches Apple’s eye, each app is well worth checking out. … Read More
OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 4 was released for developers today as build 12A239. To access DP4, registered developers will need to log into the developer center and retrieve a download code which can be used within the Mac App Store. Apple hinted at WWDC2012 that Developer Preview 4 was close to the release … Read More
No more guesses or vague release schedules, Apple has announced that OS X Mountain Lion will be released in July at a price of $19.99. The download will be available exclusively through the Mac App Store and following along with Apple’s generous purchase policy, a single purchase of Mountain Lion will install on all personally … Read More
It’s always a good idea to backup a file if you’re going to be making some changes to it and you’re uncertain of the outcome. In the Finder this is as simple as just selecting the file and hitting Command+D to create a duplicate of the file in question, but in the command line you … Read More
Do you remember how you could make small and precise 1/4 incremental changes to brightness and audio volume in Mac OS X Snow Leopard by holding down the Option key? Many thought this feature disappeared with OS X Lion, but it turns out you can still make those incremental adjustments in both OS X Lion, … Read More
If you think a Mac display looks fuzzy or blurry there are a few common solutions to check into before assuming the screen itself has a problem. Likewise, if your screen text just doesn’t look right it may be due to a few settings within Mac OS X. With that in mind here are a … Read More
We often get asked what the single most useful Mac tip is, or what a handful of the best tricks are. It’s impossible to answer such a question given the diversity of use cases of OS X, but here’s a collection of what are surely some of the absolute best tips for Mac OS X … Read More
Keeping a portable Mac turned on while the lid remains closed is commonly referred to as clamshell mode. Clamshell mode basically docks the MacBook Air / Pro / etc and allows the GPU to power an external display only, which can help performance of some games and graphics intensive tasks. Additionally, some MacBook users just … Read More
Are you looking for a way to make the command line a bit more user friendly? If so, you may find Fish to be a pretty nice alternative shell whether you are completely new to the OS X Terminal or you just want some general assistance when at the command line.
Closed Captioning places written text at the bottom of video content, allowing for anyone to read along with the video rather than listen to the audio. This is an essential feature for certain accessibility purposes and for individuals who are hard of hearing, but it’s also just a useful feature to enable if you want … Read More
The MacUpdate June 2012 Bundle is an absolute whopper of a deal with 11 killer Mac apps that would otherwise retail for $457 for just $49.99. Some particular highlights in the bundle are Parallels 7, ScreenFlow 3, Civilization 5, Jaksta, and My Living Desktop, but you’ll find every app in the bundle to be quite … Read More
If you keep the Applications folder in the OS X Dock for quick app launching you’ve probably noticed it’s just a giant list of all the apps installed. Sure you can change the display to use a grid, list, or fan, but if you have a lot of apps you’ll still end up with a … Read More
