macOS and iOS come with a decent default calendar app called “Calendar”. Jokes aside, Calendar comes with an embedded travel time feature, which allows users to schedule travel time ahead. For example, if you happen to have a meeting in downtown, you can add “Meeting” as an event, and then add 30 mins as a travel time. What’s more, Calendar automatically calculates the travel time from your previous scheduled location.
Tagged macOS
Remove AppleScript from Menu Bar
DevonThink users would be quite familiar with AppleScript; it comes in handy for any organization work, except for its presence in the menu bar. With the introduction of more GUI-friendly kit, Automator, since OS X, not all users need a speed dial for AppleScript.
When iTunes Home Sharing won’t appear on iOS
It’s an iTunes problem, yet again. If you are using Macs and iOS devices on your network, likely you are already taking advantage of “home sharing” feature embedded in iTunes.
Fix macOS Shared Folder ‘Not Found’ Error
While Mac handles vast majority of things nicely without too much asking questions, keeping network connection to a NAS drive is not one of them. If you happen to be on WiFi, and your Mac is likely to go to sleep frequently (i.e. it’s a laptop), you will see an annoying error message anytime you try to reconnect to NAS, “cannot be opened because the original item cannot be found”.
When Macs with Nvidia Graphics Won’t Boot, with Full Loading Bar
While current Retina lines of Macs tend to run on Intel iGPUs and AMD Radeons, previous generation was primarily delivered with Nvidia’s. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then if Nvidia is not opting Mac in to their extended support. If you are experiencing the issue I am describing, I can only hope you have a backup.
May 18, 2018
Quick Announcements
Find Case-Sensitive Duplicates
If you are running a small database of your own, finding duplicates is a major nuisance. If that database also happens to be shared through NAS, more likely then not you end up with a system littered with duplicates. While using an expensive database management suite will definitely fix a problem, this method can remedy the problem for the time being without a dime out of your pocket.
Beta Software is not a Press Release Copy
In light of possible obsolesce of eGPU support on TB1/2 machines, I thought it would be a good time to go back to the basics for this week. Public and/or developer beta is hardly a reliable source of information. Features will be added, dropped, and then added again in betas. And if you need an insider information just hang around by the Apple campus instead of trying to whip up a news.
eGPU is Now Back on older Thunderbolt Macs with Scripts
Apple has officially stopped supporting eGPUs on Thunderbolt 1 or 2 as of 10.13.4. Any TB1/2 Macs that had been using eGPUs previously will not be able to get hold of it as I had previously explained. That being said, the script has already been released to bypass the block.
Force Empty Trash Can on macOS
If you have just transferred over to Mac, the first problem likely to notice is deleting files. With the migration-related apps running in the background, file permissions can get wacky easily. Any times file systems or file permissions are being modified, you can encounter this issue again. While this problem is less frequent since California-based Mac names, let us assume for a moment you have a reason not want to reboot your computer and have encountered such an issue.
Test Multiple Zip Archive Files on macOS
Zip has now become an industry norm for a reason. It’s old enough to be widely available, and it’s old enough to be run on any device without hiccups. But this also means any Zip files could be compressed with substandard softwares and/or distributed through routes that simply cannot guarantee any integrity.
Downgrade APFS to HFS+
APFS is a newly introduced file system focused primarily on SSD. Due to its technical nature, which I will describe at the end of this post, it can worsen the performance on HDD. If you happen to have a drive running APFS, you will not see an option in Disk Utility to downgrade back. It will have be done manually on Terminal.
Take Screenshot on macOS
Windows have “Print Screen” key, and Mac have option and command key. Sounds ludicrous when you hear it for the first time, but Mac mostly relies on the combination of shift, control, option, command keys to do even an OS thing, including taking screenshots of your monitor. No need to pull out your mighty smartphones just for screenshots people.
How to Make a macOS Bootable Disk
Part of your “backup plan” for a workstation must include a way to boot from an external source. And this is no different on Mac, regardless of the marketings Apple is selling. Although it is possible to boot a Mac with internet recovery mode, taking bets on at-risk computers are not advisable.
State of eGPU Support on Coming High Sierras
High Sierra tuned in native support for eGPUs, but recent updates on eGPU support on older Macs are looking grim. If you own a Mac that does have a USB-C port, (or any plain MacBooks) it is very likely your computer does not support Thunderbolt 3. Any Mac with Thunderbolt 1 or 2 ports are now less likely to support eGPU even with High Sierra or higher.