Feek's macOS useful tools, utilities and applications thread

[the-evaluator]

macOS is Unix too... *shrug*

I know, but it isn't used or managed like I use or manage a Linux box. That is to say, everything at the command line - my Linux boxes are all headless and don't have a GUI installed.

 

[Rainmaker]

I know, but it isn't used or managed like I use or manage a Linux box. That is to say, everything at the command line - my Linux boxes are all headless and don't have a GUI installed.

Yes, I'm au fait with Linux and BSD. Along with macOS I've been using them for over 20 years. With a GUI, without a GUI, it's all the same underneath. I wouldn't count using a CLI tool as 'not doing things the Mac way', whatever that is. Just use what works best for you and for the job at hand, whether it's a GUI or console or other.

Edit: As for macOS not being managed headlessly like Linux and BSD boxes can be... AWS's Mac Minis would like a word with you.

 

[ChrisD.]

Does anyone know of an app which can control displays better than macOS? I use a external monitor which is also hooked up to my PC. If I use the monitor for my PC I have to disconnect the HDMI cable as otherwise the OS thinks it's still connected. I'd like the ability to disconnect it in software.

 

[roman59]

Quick question guys do any of you use Screens on the iPad ?

Trying to figure out what the in app purchases are & also as I want to access my iMac & Mac Mini remotely will I have to buy it for those 2 machines as well ?

Had the Magic Keyboard delivered yesterday for my 2021 iPad Pro M1, fantastic piece of kit!!

Cheers all

 

[Cromulent]

Iterm2
FOSS. Fully featured and extensible terminal app that blows the native Terminal out of the water. Graphically accelerated, themable, does everything you'd want and more (including tmux, split screen, programmable outputs and more).

Coming back to the Mac after ten years using mainly Windows and Linux for the last year I found the default terminal app a bit meh. This looks exactly like what I wanted. Thank you. Having to SSH into multiple servers to set things up is a bit of a pain so anything that makes the terminal better is a win in my books.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Blackhole (free)

It's technically an audio driver that allows applications to pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency.

I found the perfect use for this during the pandemic where my wife (a teacher) would want to record a training video or Teams presentation (CPD) using Quicktime.

By default, Quicktime will only record the default output device (speakers) by using the default input device (microphone) as an input... it won't record the "internal audio". In other words, you have to play the audio loud enough for your mic to capture the sound. Now, if you closed a door or the phone goes off, that's tough... it is recorded over the top of what you're trying to record! Not only is this not ideal (try finding a space where you can leave the laptop on full blast) but if you forgot to stop recording you'd have to edit the video/audio down.

Installing Blackhole allows you to setup a new customised input/output in the built-in MIDI controller app and route the audio as you need. This video explains how to do it a bit better than I can explain in text...

 

[ChrisD.]

For those using Bartender, is there a way to set a timeout when the menu bar returns to compressed? I can see a check box for returning when using another app or when manually pressing the buttons. I'd like for it to wait 5 seconds or so before hiding items.

Also, for those using TimeMachine on a NAS, you may have experienced it being problematic. Time Machine Mechanic 2 and Ulbow are excellent apps (and the site is also interesting for more advanced users):

https://eclecticlight.co/consolation-t2m2-and-log-utilities/



Ulbow in general is a fantastic log utility and it doesn't just cover Time Machine. Here's xample of basic Time Machine logs:

08:25:03.987561 com.apple.TimeMachine Found disk5s1 41504653-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
08:25:03.987588 com.apple.TimeMachine Mounted disk5s1 at '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air
08:25:05.777518 com.apple.TimeMachine Mountpoint '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' is still valid
08:25:05.777607 com.apple.TimeMachine Mountpoint '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' is still valid
08:25:05.779204 com.apple.TimeMachine '/Volumes/.timemachine/192.168.1.5/58526ED0-F0A1-4E7B-BCD3-9A6067F12AFA/TimeMachine/Christopher’s MacBook Air.sparsebundle' mounted at '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air'
08:25:06.114727 com.apple.TimeMachine Mountpoint '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' is still valid
08:25:07.474095 com.apple.TimeMachine Checking identity of target volume '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air'
08:25:07.931057 com.apple.TimeMachine Mountpoint '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' is still valid
08:25:08.656085 com.apple.TimeMachine Mountpoint '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' is still valid
08:25:08.658467 com.apple.TimeMachine Backing up 1 volumes to Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air (/dev/disk5s1,16): /Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air
08:25:08.870656 com.apple.TimeMachine Checking destination IO performance at "/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air"
08:25:10.033815 com.apple.TimeMachine Starting session for '/System/Volumes/Data/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' with options: 4
08:25:10.035629 com.apple.TimeMachine Accepted a new connection from 'Spotlight-mds' for service com.apple.backupd.session.xpc
08:25:10.035929 com.apple.TimeMachine Session requested for Time Machine volume '/System/Volumes/Data/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air'
08:25:10.038458 com.apple.TimeMachine Session prepared 0 backups (27 cached dates) for file:///System/Volumes/Data/Volumes/Backups%20of%20Christopher%E2%80%99s%20MacBook%20Air/ (APFSMachineStore)
08:25:10.039006 com.apple.TimeMachine Prepared 0 backups!
08:25:11.249557 com.apple.TimeMachine Failed destination write test with error Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=60 "Operation timed out". Wrote 29.4 MB in 1 file.
08:25:11.255112 com.apple.TimeMachine Found matching machine store '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' for computer named 'Christopher’s MacBook Air', no machine store inheritance needed
08:25:12.451958 com.apple.TimeMachine Mountpoint '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air' is still valid
08:25:14.713733 com.apple.TimeMachine Starting age based thinning of Time Machine local snapshots on disk '/Volumes/Backups of Christopher’s MacBook Air'
08:25:14.715886 com.apple.TimeMachine Starting age based thinning of Time Machine local snapshots on disk '/System/Volumes/Data'
08:25:14.720365 com.apple.TimeMachine Skipping age based thinning of Time Machine reference snapshot 'com.apple.TimeMachine.2021-11-07-131000.local' on disk '/System/Volumes/Data'

I really like it as filtering specific logs is straightforward and much easier for advanced users than the built in tools.

 

[Rilot]

I'm really surprised to see that no one has mentioned BetterTouchTool yet.
It gives you total control over the trackpad to create new gestures on a per-app basis to do pretty much whatever you want. It also gives you the window snapping functionality of HyperDock built in. Also allows you to customise gestures on the MagicMouse and the TouchBar.
If I could only install 1 app on my Mac, this would be it.

folivora.ai - Great Tools for your Mac!

 

[shiver]

I'm really surprised to see that no one has mentioned BetterTouchTool yet.
It gives you total control over the trackpad to create new gestures on a per-app basis to do pretty much whatever you want. It also gives you the window snapping functionality of HyperDock built in. Also allows you to customise gestures on the MagicMouse and the TouchBar.
If I could only install 1 app on my Mac, this would be it.

folivora.ai - Great Tools for your Mac!

+1 for BetterTouchTool - I installed it so long ago and am so used to it I forget it's not part of macOS (#inbeforewindowshasthisbuiltin)

 

[Scythe]

Aldente - https://apphousekitchen.com

A charge limiter application to prevent charging of laptop batteries to 100% when left connected to mains for long periods of time. For example, my laptop lives connected to mains mostly, so I have now limited charging to 80% to maximise the battery health, as Apple's built in utility doesn't seem to do anything.

 

[Feek]

Aldente - https://apphousekitchen.com

Snake oil.

as Apple's built in utility doesn't seem to do anything.

My M1 MBA is currently sitting at 80% charge, limited by the OS. It says it'll be fully charged by 17:00 this evening (when I typically take it off charge).

Battery and battery management tech is so advanced now that I really don't think there's any need for a third party app like this.

One of the things it claims is heat protection. Really? These new machines don't even get warm.

I'm not alone in thinking this, it was discussed in this thread.

 

[Maccy]

Ahem, some of us are on i9 radiators still

 

[ChrisD.]

I've never used any battery software on my 2.5 year old i7 and it's connected to power most of its life and the health is showing at 88%.

 

[Scythe]

Snake oil.


My M1 MBA is currently sitting at 80% charge, limited by the OS. It says it'll be fully charged by 17:00 this evening (when I typically take it off charge).

Battery and battery management tech is so advanced now that I really don't think there's any need for a third party app like this.

One of the things it claims is heat protection. Really? These new machines don't even get warm.

I'm not alone in thinking this, it was discussed in this thread.

Couldn't care about heat protection, but if Apple's optimised battery management is so good, why does my laptop sit on 100% charge all the time? My laptop sits on mains power 24/7, as I'm working from home these days.

 

[the-evaluator]

if Apple's optimised battery management is so good, why does my laptop sit on 100% charge all the time? My laptop sits on mains power 24/7, as I'm working from home these days.

Go to System Preferences -> Battery -> Battery. Is optimised battery charging enabled?

 

[Scythe]

Go to System Preferences -> Battery -> Battery. Is optimised battery charging enabled?

Yep, was pretty disappointed but from reading around I’m not alone.

 

[Feek]

Mine sat on 100% for quite some months before the management kicked in. Now it does as I’ve described above. Not every day, just some days.

Considering my old MB was five years old and still on 90% battery despite sitting on charge for most of its life. In my opinion, a battery management app is simply not needed and a waste of money.

 

[Si.]

Does anyone know a tool that will display the speed when copying files like windows explorer.. Could have done with something like this today at work while diagnosing some performance issues..

 

[ChrisD.]

Does anyone know a tool that will display the speed when copying files like windows explorer.. Could have done with something like this today at work while diagnosing some performance issues..

You can use Activity Monitor, however if you want something in the title bar then iStat Menu's will show network throughput (amongst other configurable useful stats such as CPU, RAM, disk etc).

 

[john_smith]

Great thread, thank you.

Something i've always wanted was a replica of Windows File Explorer to replace finder. Does anybody know if anything exists?

Oh and Treesize, I use that almost daily on Windows machines.