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.
Need to show hidden files on a Mac? This is pretty common if you find yourself needing to access hidden files on your Mac, like an .htaccess file you downloaded, a .bash_profile, a .svn directory, – literally anything preceded with a ‘.’ indicating it is invisible by default – you can run the below command … Read More
MAMP: It stands for Mac Apache MySql PHP, and it’s a fantastic setup for Mac based web developers. Basically, think LAMP but for Mac OS X users, and in a pre-packaged, simple to use environment, which also indludes PHPMyAdmin, perl, python, and SQL Lite.
A quick way to lock your Mac desktop is to hit Shift-Command-Option-Q to do a fast user log out. This logs the current user out of Mac OS X, which is one way to initiate a login screen when the Mac needs to be used again. Another method is brought to us by inaminit who … Read More
Have you ever wanted to listen to Pandora from a Mac, but without opening a web browser like Safari? Some of us just use Pandora on our iPhone or iPad as we work on a Mac, but what if you could stay on the computer entirely? While there is always Pandora.com and there are a … Read More
Update: Different wallpapers for different spaces is now a feature of Mac OS X Lion, here’s how to use it. Spaces. Personally, it is my favorite addition to Apple’s Leopard operating system. I have become very accustomed to working with Spaces and have long desired the ability to set a different background for each virtual … Read More
I have been a long time user of Skype and recently some of the features unique to the beta have caught my attention. In particular, I am enjoying the new screen sharing functionality. Frequently, I work remotely and find screen sharing crucial to collaboration. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to cruise over to … Read More
Wallsaver is a freeware utility that allows you to easily take a screensaver and make it your desktop background, creating a nifty interactive effect that’s pleasant to look at. Aimed at older versions of OS X however, it’s not going to be for anyone, and furthermore, the Wallsaver app is basically a front-end to the … Read More
Recently I connected my Mac to my linux based NFS server at home. I use NFS to access files from two other Linux boxes and on each server my UID (unique id) is set to 1000. In order for me to easily have full access to my NFS shares from OS X I changed my … Read More
These days there are no shortage of ways to backup your Macintosh. Probably the most popular method available to an end-user is Apple’s Time Machine which is handled automatically after a simple setup through the GUI, or can be triggered to start at any time. Personally, I was very impressed with the ease of use … Read More
Is Windows 7 really the Mac OS X slaying OS that so many claim it to be? Is it the greatest thing since sliced bread? There is all sorts of hooplah in the tech world about Microsofts Windows 7 beta, so why not see what the fuss is all about using your Mac? Rather than … Read More
Photo Booth is a really fun app that comes with all macs that have a built in iSight / FaceTime front facing camera. Here are a couple tips that make using Photo Booth on your mac even more enjoyable; the ability to disable the ‘white screen’ flash and the ability to disable the 3 second … Read More
It’s a good idea to secure your Mac from prying eyes, and it doesn’t take a lot of work to set some basic security to Mac OS X. This will help protect a Mac and the important files you have on it, and I consider the following three tips to be 100% necessary for almost … Read More
Like many other power users, I’m addicted to the Mac OS X command line, any reason at all for me to launch the terminal I take as an opportunity to learn more about the powerful backend of our favorite operating system. Here I have gathered 5 useful commands that will make your life easier when … Read More
Life is officially easier for front-end web developers, you can now easily test browser compatibility by running Firefox 2 and Firefox 3 concurrently with a great utility called MultiFirefox. Simply install MultiFirefox, then rename one of the Firefox applications (to say, Firefox 3), and upon launch you can select either application version to run. MultiFirefox … Read More
If you’re wondering how to mount an ISO image in Mac OS X, it is very easy. For most ISO images you can mount them simply by double-clicking the ISO image file, and it will go through the auto-mounter app within Mac OS X putting it on your desktop. If for whatever reason that doesn’t … Read More
Update – May 2011: We have written an up to date article on exactly how to change a short user name in Mac OS X. Please refer to that for further assistance, it will work on Snow Leopard and prior versions. A while ago I made a typo when creating my short username in a … Read More
Whether you’re a systems administrator or a web developer, or anything in between, chances are you’ll have to flush your DNS cache every once in a while to get things straightened out server-side, or even just for testing certain configurations. Flushing your DNS cache in Mac OS X is actually really easy, but there are … Read More
A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to your network card, and some networks implement MAC address filtering as a method of security. Spoofing a MAC address can be desired for multiple reasons, and it is very easy to spoof your MAC address in macOS Monterey 12, macOS Big Sur 11, macOS Catalina, macOS … Read More
