Macintosh tips.

[spidy]

Have the annoying start up chime and cannot turn it off?

On my imac when I start up there is a LOUD start up sound, I use headphones but the sound still comes out via the speakers.

I did a lot of searching and there are some very technical solutions to turn it off, but the easiest way is as follows.

You can turn it right down and not hear it. This works on Mavericks, Lion and Snow leopard. I have not tried it on others.


In order to adjust (or turn off) the volume of your Mac's internal speakers, nothing must be plugged into the headphone jack. IMPORTANT.


How to adjust the volume on your Mac's internal speakers:

Unplug speakers or headphones from the headphone jack.
Go to System Prefs > Sound, then click on the Output tab.
You will then see Internal Speakers (Type built-in) highlighted in the window.
Adjust the output volume (which also controls the chime volume) in the slider at the bottom of the window. Remember if you mute it there will be no internal speaker sound.

Reboot. Turn off and plug in headphone jacks. Re boot and there should be NO start up sound. But your headphones should still work ok.

[spidy]

Playing AVI movies in Mavericks.

There is no need to pay for a program to play AVI movies in mavericks. Download Free Handbrake (handbrake.fr) https://www.google.com.au/search?q=handbrake.fr&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&client=firefox-a&channel=np&source=hp&gfe_rd=cr&ei=clG7U7m9L6SN8QfxxICwDg

Handbrake can convert AVI movies to a format that's playable on all Apple devices.

To do this Launch Handbrake, in the navigation sheet that shows, select the movie you wish to convert.
If the 'Presets' pane is not showing, click the 'Toggle presets' tab.

From the list on the right choose the preset you would like to use for your movie (for example Apple TV 2) Then click the start button and handbrake will start to convert the movie for you.

*What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.*

[spidy]

Security for your mac.

As macs become more popular they are attracting hackers etc. A good security tip is as follows:

In the Security and privacy tab in System Preferences, if you check in the "general" tab you can see that you have the option to allow apps to be downloaded from the Mac Apps store only, these are the ones that Apple have screened to make sure there are no malware.

You can choose to download apps from the App store and identified developers, who Apple have entrusted with a certificate, or you can set it to download from anywhere (not very secure).

It is your choice but it can be a good idea to make your Mac as secure as possible.

[spidy]

FYI: OS X Yosemite's Spotlight tells Apple EVERYTHING you're looking for.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/20/apple_spotlight_privacy_qualms/

FYI: OS X Yosemite's Spotlight tells Apple EVERYTHING you're looking for
It's on by default – didn't you read the small print?
By John Leyden, 20 Oct 2014.

Networking in the age of cloud computing

There has been growing disquiet over Apple's desktop search app Spotlight, which sends queries for things back to the company's servers to process.

Spotlight phones home in OS X Yosemite, version 10.10, and it is enabled by default: it can be switched off, but with Apple insisting that it now takes people's privacy seriously, the software has raised some eyebrows.

It appears Spotlight sends queries, along with your location, back to Apple over the internet so the company can suggest related things from the web using Microsoft's Bing engine. Apple says it needs to see your queries so it can improve Spotlight's algorithms for suggesting things.

If you know where to look, it's laid out in the operating system's fine print:

Taking privacy very seriously ... The terms and conditions of using Spotlight (click to enlarge)

So, for example, searching for "weather" on a Register Mac running OS X 10.10 reveals files, folders and installed applications (such as the Windows 8.1 weather app in Parallels) on the machine containing the keyword; that's the local search part. This is what you'd expect to see.

But then Spotlight contacts Apple remotely to get recommended software from the Apple App Store, and a search by Bing for any relevant websites.

What's the weather like up there? Ask Apple (click to enlarge)

Google and Microsoft provide similar services. But the presence of this feature in OS X has taken so many people by surprise, it's prompted unofficial advice from some quarters on how to disable to the privacy-bothering search system.

You can find a Python script to switch off the remote search, and step-by-step instructions for doing it by hand, on fix-macosx.com (clue: System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results, and Safari > Preferences > Search).

This new website explains why it is advising Mac users to disable Spotlight's suggestions, both within preferences for the OS and options for the bundled Safari browser, as well as how to sideline Bing web searches:

If you've upgraded to Mac OS X Yosemite (10.10) and you're using the default settings, each time you start typing in Spotlight (to open an application or search for a file on your computer), your local search terms and location are sent to Apple and third parties (including Microsoft).

Mac OS X has always respected user privacy by default, and Mac OS X Yosemite should too.

According to Apple, the data sent by Spotlight is encrypted using HTTPS. The company's privacy policy web page also says steps are taken to blur the identity of Spotlight users – although it does concede that the service is opt-out rather than opt-in. Don't look up anything too personal, especially anything identifying, if you haven't switched off the remote search:

Before it answers, Spotlight considers things like context and location while protecting your privacy by using an anonymous identifier that refreshes every 15 minutes. You can always opt out of Suggestions and continue to use Spotlight solely for local search on your device.

You are also free to opt out of having Spotlight use Location Services any time you want. If you opt out, Spotlight will still use your IP address to determine a general location to make your searches more relevant. Unlike our competitors, we don't use a persistent personal identifier to tie your searches to you in order to build a profile based on your search history.

We also place restrictions on our partners so they don't create a long-term trail of identifiable searches by you or from your device.

Yosemite was released late last week after a string of betas were made available to developers, the first in June. The OS was finalized as Apple chief exec Tim cook started waving around his company's alleged efforts to safeguard privacy; Cook hopes to use privacy as a differentiator in the iGiant's ongoing battle against arch rival Google.

But the people behind Fix-macosx.com reckon Spotlight isn't the only component of OS X Yosemite that unnecessarily phones home. "A myriad system and user processes are sending data to Apple in a default configuration, and we want to fix those, too," they promise.

A collaborative project to identify additional data collected by Apple and other third parties has been set up by the Fix Mac OS X team. "This work is powered by Net-Monitor, our open-source toolkit for auditing phone home behaviour system-wide," the developers add.

Apple's collection of search queries in its cloud is not limited to OS X Yosemite: the Spotlight Suggestions and Bing Web Results are also included in iOS 8. "It has to do with sending data to Apple," Sean Sullivan, a security advisor at F-Secure, told The Register. "It's a being-spied-on-by-the-cloud issue."

Spotlight on OS X and iOS is problematic in other respects, some of which have only come to light over the last week or so. For example, if email, calendar events and other categories of information are checked in the Spotlight preferences, the operating system will index the material so that it can be quickly located and retrieved.

In the case of a Mac desktop, that index may be leaked to a USB drive and shared with another computer user; it's an issue explored in a blog post by F-Secure. There is a straightforward workaround but it means disabling functionality to avoid a security risk, so it's a bit crude.

"Don't check Mail and Events and it can't leak. But then you can't search through your email and calendar, which is what I mean by limiting your functionality," Sullivan explained. "It's a poor workaround – users should be able to index mail and events so it's available to be searched without the worry that it leaks to USB."

[spidy]

Tip for changing folder name.

After a lot of fumbling around by me I finally found an easy way. Here is an easy way to change a folder name:

Rename one item

Select the item you want to rename, then press Return.
Enter a new name. You can use numbers and most symbols. You can't include a colon or start the name with a period (.). Some apps may not allow you to use a slash (/) in a filename.
Press Return.

[spidy]

New versions of Firefox (38.0.5 and up) have Pocket built into the toolbar and bookmark menu. GRRR.

If you prefer not to use Pocket for Firefox, follow these steps to disable it. Here is how to remove the annoying Pocket bit that now pops up in your bookmarks.
(You have to delete from the top bar not from the bookmark icon)

Remove Pocket from your toolbar or menu
Removing Pocket from your toolbar or menu will disable it:

[LIST=1]

• Right-click on the Pocket icon .
  
• Select Remove from Toolbar.

[/LIST]


https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/disable-pocket-firefox

[spidy]

MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory.

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT1270

How to identify MacBook Pro models.

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201300

[spidy]

 Upgrading  directly from OSX 10.7.5 to El Capitan?

 If your Mac is suported by El Capitan.
 Any Mac that can run OS 10.9 (Mavericks) or OS 10.10 (Yosemite) can also run OS 10.11 (El Capitan). But for Macs running OS 10.7 (Lion) and OS 10.8 (Mountain Lion), one needs to check whether El Capitan can support those Macs.

Most Macs released in last 5+ years are supported by El Capitan. Including:
iMac (Mid-2007 or newer)
MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or newer), (15-inch, Mid / Late 2007 or newer), (17-inch, Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac Mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)

You can also try to install it. The installer should let you know if it is possible on your Mac.

[spidy]

New mac OS Sierra Details and a review here. AND its FREE!

http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/mac-software/macos-sierra-review-first-impressions-2016-3642147/

[spidy]

More information about OS Sierra. And about the cloud storage facility.

http://www.pcmag.com/article/345500/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-macos-sierra

[spidy]

Sophos Home will be ending support for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and 10.9 Mavericks on July 15th, 2017. Sophos Home endpoints running on these versions of OS X will no longer receive new features, bug fixes, protection updates and customer support.

The last security update from Apple for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion was in August 2015, and for 10.9 Mavericks was in July 2016. While Apple continues to provide security updates for more recent versions of macOS, these updates are no longer provided for 10.8 Mountain Lion and 10.9 Mavericks. As a security company we strongly encourage our users to stay current on all operating system and security updates to best protect themselves.
Therefore, if you are currently still running OS X 10.8 or 10.9, we recommend that you upgrade to the latest version of macOS. This will ensure that you receive the latest security and system updates, and continue to enjoy the best protection with Sophos Home.
Thank you again for using Sophos Home, and please contact us via the Community Forums if you have any questions.
The Sophos Home Team

[spidy]

Christmas present for SPIDY!

Aww come on it's only $13,000 or so!  :dance:

https://www.apple.com/imac-pro/

[spidy]

Saga of the battery cap.

Apple wireless keyboards.

It came time to change the batteries, they were low but still working. So I got a screwdriver and tried to remove the steel cap over the battery compartment. NO go, it just would not unscrew Never in my life have I had a screw that was so resistant to being turned. I used penetrating oil=No effect, I used a hacksaw to cut a slot in the case to relieve pressure on the thread=No effect, I drilled three small holes again to relieve pressure and to make sure the penetrating oil got inside easily= No effect.The screw just would not turn. I then cut a piece of the case on the bottom away,= No effect that screw just would not turn. I had hammered the end of the screw slot = No effect. I then parted the edge of the case and poured more penetrating oil in.

Using a large screwdriver and ALL my strength it finally started to move only to stop halfway out! I could then use a large pair of grips to grab the screw around the edge and FINALLY got The screw out.

Inside the battery tube it was coated with gunk from the leaking batteries. The moral of this story is to change the batteries regularly and use some grease or vaseline etc to coat the threads of the screw so that it can easily be removed.

I manage to get the keyboard working fortunately, other wise it would be having to buy a new one.

[Allan]

Wish I could be of help, but never used a mac.

[spidy]

It is a shame but if the batteries leak it will cause this problem. It really could be a good idea to smear the threads with grease.  

Other wireless devices may have the same problem?