Quitting apps gracefully is typically done through the appropriate application menu by choosing “Quit”, but the Mac GUI is obviously inaccessible from the command line of Mac OS X. So when most command line users are confronted with the need to exit an application, they wind up using the ‘kill’ command to terminate the process … Read More
Troubleshooting complex issues on a Mac can be challenging as is, and if you’re ever confronted with some complex situations you may find the command line to lend a major hand. In this case, advanced users can boot a Mac into safe mode through the usage of the nvram utility, a tool which allows users … Read More
The networksetup utility offers a command line interface to configuring the variety of Mac networking features available in Mac OS X. We’ve discussed networksetup and accompanying features many times here for more advanced purposes, but one of the simpler uses of networksetup is that it can list out every piece of networking hardware attached to … Read More
Have a favorite song that you want to use to seed a new music station? Maybe you’re looking to find some new tunes to hear based on a particular song or artist? iTunes Radio makes this process simple, and you can instantly create a new iTunes Radio station from any playing song or artist, whether … Read More
Apple has released the 7th developer preview of OS X Yosemite. The update arrives as build 14A343f, and includes bug fixes and feature enhancements, making it recommended for all Mac developers to install.
Typically Mac users will retrieve the screen resolution of connected displays through the Displays system preference panel in OS X. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that approach, it’s easy and quick, but because it uses the graphical interface of OS X it’s not necessary helpful for scripting purposes or remote management through Remote Login and … Read More
Cutting and pasting files within the Mac OS X Finder is an easy way to move files and folders around on the Mac, particularly for Windows converts, but by default the cut and paste function changes permissions and ownership during the file move process. For the most part that is desirable, but if you are … Read More
Safari Bookmarks default to saving their names as the title of a webpage or website. That means if a site has a long title, the bookmark name will be equally as long. For accessing bookmarks through the Bookmarks menu that isn’t too big of a deal, but when you’re using the Safari Favorites Bar, long … Read More
Having an external monitor hooked up to a Mac can boost productivity significantly, and most users who get a secondary screen just hook it up and start using it – it works, so why mess around, right? But to get the best picture and color representation out of your external display, you’ll want to take … Read More
Aside from using apps like Photoshop, one of the best ways to make a contact sheet on the Mac is to use Automator to generate the thumbnail sheet as needed. But because Automator requires the usage of an OS X scripting utility, it’s beyond the comfort level of many users, and it also takes time … Read More
The Twitter for Mac client has a peculiar feature (bug?) which causes the app image cache to grow endlessly and without limitation. That means the Twitter image cache folder can easily become several gigabytes in size unbeknownst to the end user, and those cache files are also stored in virtual memory, which can cause unnecessary … Read More
Apple has released the second version of the OS X Yosemite Public Beta. Mac users who opted in to participate in the public beta program for Yosemite are recommended to install the update. Alongside Public Beta 2 is also a new beta version of the redesigned iTunes 12. Both updates focus on bug fixes and … Read More
Every Mac which has the Pages app for Mac OS X installed includes a little Easter Egg that few know about; a famous Steve Jobs speech, tucked away in a little unassuming folder. Technically, it’s two different Steve Jobs speeches, the famous text from the Crazy Ones Think Different campaign, and arguably the even more … Read More
How often have you had a file open in one application on your Mac, only to need it opened in another OS X app instead? Fairly often, right? When confronted with that situation, most Mac users will do one of two things; go back to the Finder file system and re-open the file in the … Read More
Saving a file or document as a PDF is easily done from almost anywhere in Mac OS by using the print to PDF feature, which is part of the Mac Printer service, but to trigger it you have to go to the Print menu and then specifically select to ‘print’ the file as a PDF … Read More
Apple has released the 6th developer preview build of OS X Yosemite to those registered with the Mac Developer Program. The update arrives as build 14A3429f, likely includes feature refinements and bug fixes, and is recommended for all Yosemite Dev Preview users to install. OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 6 can be downloaded from the … Read More
Few Mac users seem to know it, but the Finder window toolbars of Mac OS X can be customized to serve as a quick-launch panel. You can store almost anything in the Finder toolbar, whether it’s an app, a directory, automator action, network share, a website bookmark, or even a frequently accessed document. Adding items … Read More
The user path is the series of directories that command line programs are searched in order to run. For example, if you type ‘iostat’ into the terminal, then iostat will be run from /usr/sbin because “/usr/sbin” is part of your $PATH. Accordingly, users who frequently use the command line may need to adjust or add … Read More
