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  • Showing only topics in ~tech with the tag "macos". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. Are there any downsides to installing a newer (unsupported) macOS on an older MacBook Pro?

      I happen to be in possession of a 2013 MacBook Pro that runs macOS 11 Big Sur and it's decent for that. Let's say I wanted to run the latest apps and macOS on it, things that don't work on Big...

      I happen to be in possession of a 2013 MacBook Pro that runs macOS 11 Big Sur and it's decent for that.

      Let's say I wanted to run the latest apps and macOS on it, things that don't work on Big Sur. I know there are unofficial ways to get those on the MacBook, OpenCore Legacy Patcher is what most articles recommend that I've seen.

      Has anyone here tried that, and were there any big problems with that setup? Were there any broken apps or features after upgrading? Did everything become slower?

      13 votes
    2. Please help me understand and manage external hdd sleep

      I have an external drive (3.5" hdd, SATA) in an enclosure (usb 3) (purchased separately), connected to a thunderbolt dock (OWC) connected alternately to an iMac and a macbook pro. The HDD goes to...

      I have an external drive (3.5" hdd, SATA) in an enclosure (usb 3) (purchased separately), connected to a thunderbolt dock (OWC) connected alternately to an iMac and a macbook pro. The HDD goes to sleep, and causes problems. Freezes, weird internet access problems, kernel panics.

      I have done some research, and can't seem to figure out:

      how to know whether it is the drive, enclosure, or computer causing the sleep, although, fiddling with various settings on the mac seemed to have no effect, although it may have increased my battery usage :(

      how to adjust settings on the drive, or in the enclosure.

      How to determine what the sleep behavior of prospective drives will be.

      As a workaround, I tried to write a zsh script to touch the drive ever few seconds. This kinda worked, but was a struggle to figure out appropriate permissions issues and how to make it run automatically.

      I welcome all guidance, pointers to resources, clarifications, incantations, well-wishes.

      8 votes
    3. Messaging programs: which is better privacy - browser versions or dedicated apps?

      I use Slack, WhatsApp, Discord and Facebook's Messenger. On my computers, rather than installing dedicated apps, I've always just used these services' browser versions. It allows me to block ads...

      I use Slack, WhatsApp, Discord and Facebook's Messenger. On my computers, rather than installing dedicated apps, I've always just used these services' browser versions. It allows me to block ads with my browser's ad blocker and modify the UIs with other extensions that I use.

      But in terms of privacy — and more specifically, in terms of what the service has access to outside of their own walled gardens — is there a difference between using these services through a browser or their dedicated apps? I use both Windows and Mac computers, if that makes a difference. My browser of choice is Firefox and I run the services in their own containers.

      On my phone, I just use the provided apps and get notifications that way. I am well aware that most of these protocols are not great for privacy to begin with, but I'm not currently looking for other messaging systems.

      21 votes
    4. Recommendations for iOS/macOS voice memo transcription

      Hey Tildes, I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a way to transcribe voice memos on iOS/macOS. I want to take up a weekly/daily/whatever journal, however, I felt it may be good for...

      Hey Tildes,

      I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a way to transcribe voice memos on iOS/macOS.

      I want to take up a weekly/daily/whatever journal, however, I felt it may be good for me to use the voice memos feature on my iPhone as I go on longer daily walks and I always have my phone on me. However, going back to look at old voice memos can be rather time consuming rather than just reading/skimming through a text version.

      The app can be paid or free. I am hoping to be able to export into multiple file types as well that I could open on any device I really want.

      7 votes
    5. Is macOS truly the holy grail UX for older people?

      My mother is 65+ years old and loves everything Apple, but whenever I need to touch her computer I find myself questioning that choice. The degree to which Apple abstract things from the user...

      My mother is 65+ years old and loves everything Apple, but whenever I need to touch her computer I find myself questioning that choice.

      The degree to which Apple abstract things from the user enables the most absurd behaviors. macOS gives little indication about which programs are open, and the red x on the top left corner just closes windows, not apps. Because the session persistence is so robust, the consequence is that my mother's Macbook Air keeps 12+ programs and their states open at all times literally for months. Every time she comes over from another continent, I close a bunch of stuff and get her an instant performance boost. Plus, she's never really sure if a program is open or not.

      The concept of (work)Spaces, as well as the launchpad, spotlight, or even how Finder really works is beyond her. Because of her over-reliance on the dock, she never enabled autohiding, so her screen real state is always crowded.

      Folders are entirely immaterial for her. Everything goes to "Downloads" with no organization whatsoever, and she's always looking for stuff "manually" by reading the filenames.

      Her machine is running Mojave, and right now I can only see that finder displays two "Libraries": Documents and Downloads. Linux and Windows have Videos, Downloads, Music, etc. Those are easy to make sense of. What's the supposed Mac alternative? Buy stuff on iTunes. Well, if something is not on Amazon Video or Netflix my mother is a pirate like me (hehe), so she never made sense of it and I truly despise using iTunes for doing anything at all. She also downloads a bunch of media related to her job.

      I'm not saying macOS is bad, I'm just asking: is it really the best choice for non-technical older people?

      15 votes
    6. Apple announces new MacBook Air and iPad Pro

      I figured one thread for all of Apple's new product announcements would be enough. The new MacBook Air with the same redesigned keyboard as the 16-inch model and newer processors. I'm glad to see...

      I figured one thread for all of Apple's new product announcements would be enough.

      The new MacBook Air with the same redesigned keyboard as the 16-inch model and newer processors. I'm glad to see that they're bringing the keyboard to the rest of the lineup so quickly (I'm writing this on a 2017 MacBook Pro and this keyboard is not pleasant even after two and a half years of adjustment).

      The new iPad Pro is where things get interesting. Same design as the previous iPad Pros, but now with an ultra wide camera and a LIDAR sensor.

      The iPad Pro also has a new keyboard and trackpad accessory that looks interesting. It has an adjustable hinge that can hold the iPad at any angle, which is one of my biggest complaints with the current keyboard case. I'm interested to see how well it works in a lap when hands on videos start coming out.

      I'm excited that Apple is bringing official pointing support to iOS (beyond the basic accessibility feature in iOS 13). This could be a game changer. I'm also excited that it's coming to iOS 13.4 (and all iPads that can run it) and they aren't waiting until iOS 14 to roll out the feature. I've wanted Apple to start rolling out features on an ongoing basis (like Google is doing with the Pixel Feature Drops) rather than as one big drop every fall.

      14 votes
    7. Why is there just 3 main PC operation systems? Is there room to market a platform that isn't as intrusive as Windows 10, but more user friendly than Linux based ones?

      After trying windows 10 a few years ago and disabling all the marketing stuff and disabling other features that hinder performance, I've been curious why my only other real choice is linux, or...

      After trying windows 10 a few years ago and disabling all the marketing stuff and disabling other features that hinder performance, I've been curious why my only other real choice is linux, or reverting back to windows 7.

      34 votes