Mac OS X Linux Tech

Category: instructions

  • Download divx for Mac

    To play divx videos or movies in QuickTime / Front Row on Mac OS X, you need to install a divx codec. If you open an .avi file and see only black, you likely don’t have a divx codec installed. Download a free divx codec for Mac here then following these walkthrough instructions on how…

  • Switch Between Keyboards on Mac

    Say you have different keyboard layouts cause you’re bilingual and need access to accents or different alphabets. The normal way to switch between these two keyboards would be to show the keyboard icon on the top Menu bar and simply click on the icon and choose the keyboard layout you wish to use. Although this…

  • Caution filename not matched when unzipping multiple files

    Fix for “caution: filename not matched” error when trying to unzip multiple files at once in Terminal. Solution for unzipping multiple zip files with a single command. Open up a Terminal window on OS X, go to the directory containing the zip files and enter this command: unzip *.zip The backslash escapes (prevents) the wildcard…

  • How to Turn Off Safe Sleep

    First find your current sleep setting by opening Terminal in OS X and entering this at the prompt: pmset -g | grep hibernatemode That should return you something like “hibernatemode 3”. Remember this number, send an email to yourself, write it down on a scratch pad, whatever it takes to remember your default mode. Mode…

  • Can’t Wake MacBook Pro from Sleep

    Open the lid and nothing? Tap keys, change brightness, close and re-open lid and your MacBook still in sleep mode? Solution: Turn off Safe Sleep. Or use Smart Sleep. If you open your MacBook lid and notice that you can’t wake your MacBook from sleep, it’s because of the Safe Sleep system Apple designed. This…

  • Terminal in OS X Leopard or Tiger

    Open Finder Go to Applications => Utilities Double click on Terminal or highlight Terminal and Apple/Command Key + Arrow Down.

  • Hot MacBook Pro Temperature

    To reduce the temperature of my MacBook Pro I use smcFanControl by Hendrik Holtmann.ย  Normally my MacBook Pro would run somewhere close the 55-60C mark without doing anything intensive, say a 10-15% average CPU utilization.ย  I found this somewhat hot for my tastes, especially when using the built in keyboard where it would be uncomfortably…

  • Turn off Macbook Pro Display When Using External Display

    To use an external display only when watching a movie on an external TV or projector it’s nice to not show the video on your Mac’s main display since it’s distracting. Closing the lid on a MacBook Pro makes it go to sleep and the only way to prevent the MacBook from sleeping with the…

  • Playing TV Shows and Movies with Front Row

    This will be painfully obvious to the old school Mac crew, but having been a recent convert from twenty years of PC’ing, I recently discovered how cool it is to play movies and videos from my Macbook Pro.ย  It’s like having a digital entertainment suite in your computer, complete with remote control that wows the…

  • Apple Macbook short battery life problems

    If you’ve noticed that your Macbook or Macbook Pro purchased in 2006 or 2007 is losing its battery life at an alarming rate, you’re not alone. Apple has had a very large batch of Sony lithium-ion polymer batteries for their laptops that are losing their maximum charge capacity very quickly. If you’ve noticed that your…