Category: News

I own a 2020 MacBook 13″ M1, not the Pro version, and I’ve encountered a frustrating issue. After just 3.5 years of use, the touch bar has started flickering and emitting a bright white light, which is incredibly distracting. Unfortunately, I did not purchase AppleCare, and repairing it will likely cost over $500. This issue seems to be quite common, so it’s disappointing that Apple doesn’t address it more readily.

My previous Mac lasted me nine years, so I had some concerns about the reliability of the touch bar. Given this situation, I am preparing for the possibility of needing to buy a new Mac, ideally one without the touch bar. The M4 Air appears to fit my needs, particularly since I primarily use my computer for everyday tasks rather than demanding work. However, I have some reservations about how the M4 Air might compare to my current 2020 M1 model.

Specifically, I am interested in understanding any potential downsides of the M4 Air. My main concern is whether the display quality will meet or exceed what I am currently experiencing. I’ve heard that the newer model may have less battery life and cooling efficiency, which is something I’m also keeping in mind as I weigh my options. Overall, I want to ensure that I make a well-informed decision should I need to make a purchase soon.

Thank you for any insights you can provide.

I’ve observed a trend on Apple TV where the majority of services operate on a monthly subscription model instead of a one-time purchase option. It seems that almost all available content requires a recurring fee rather than a straightforward buy-once-for-lifetime-access scenario.

This raises the question: are there any apps on the App Store that offer a fixed fee upon purchase? It would be interesting to find alternatives that do not bind users to ongoing subscription payments.

Many people prefer the simplicity and transparency of a one-time fee as it avoids continuous billing and provides a sense of ownership over the content they purchase. If anyone has insights or suggestions regarding such applications, please share them.

It’s always beneficial to know about interesting options that allow for individual purchases without the weight of monthly commitments.

I’ve experienced this situation multiple times, and it happened again last night. I suspect it’s because I haven’t been wearing my watch to bed lately, and my body is simply unaccustomed to the change.

This morning, I took a close look at it, and fortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any damage. It’s quite a strange occurrence!

Having relied on my watch for sleep tracking, any disruption in that routine can be unsettling. I find it fascinating how our bodies adapt to certain habits, and when those habits change, we can have odd experiences as a result.

Despite the confusion, it’s a relief to know that my watch is still in good condition. I’ll be more mindful of my nighttime routine moving forward, perhaps incorporating the watch back into my sleep schedule.

After all, small changes can make a big difference in how we feel and function daily. It’s interesting to think about how the absence of a familiar object can throw off our senses.

I’ll keep an eye out for any further odd incidents, hoping that this was just a one-time occurrence. Here’s to a more consistent night’s sleep ahead!

I’m currently utilizing the Infograph watch face on my Apple Watch, which allows me to make use of all eight available complications. I find them all quite beneficial and have opted for a black background to create a more professional appearance. I’ve also been rotating through various straps to complement this sophisticated look. As for email management, I’m using Outlook as my mail client on both my iPhone and Apple Watch.

I’ve found that emails are significantly more readable on the Apple Watch with this application. In contrast, using Apple’s mail complication is quite cumbersome; I feel like I need a telescope to make out the text. This change has greatly reduced the number of times I need to reach for my phone throughout the day. How about you?

What watch face and complications do you prefer?

I have been considering purchasing iStat Menus, but I recently came across iStatistica Pro, which seems to receive much better reviews in the MacOS App Store. It’s worth noting that iStat Menus has a shorter track record on the platform, and a lot of the negative feedback appears to stem from a recent unstable version release. I am looking for insights from anyone who has experience with both applications. My primary goal isn’t to conduct extensive data analysis; rather, I need a tool that is powerful yet user-friendly.

I want to monitor the performance of my new M4 Pro and get a clearer understanding of its inner workings. Additionally, I have been experiencing some battery management issues that I suspect may be due to software bugs. To prevent potential problems, such as overheating or battery fires when I unplug my device, I want a reliable monitoring solution. If you have any recommendations or personal experiences with iStat Menus or iStatistica Pro, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Choosing the right application will help me optimize my device’s performance and ensure that I can troubleshoot any issues more effectively. Thank you for your input!

Hello,

I’ve encountered a frustrating issue with my MacBook Pro that I haven’t faced before: I’m unable to format external hard drives unless I use the terminal. The error message I receive states, “The calling process or user lacks the proper privileges to perform this operation.”

Here are the details of my setup:

– Hardware: MacBook Pro 14″ M1
– macOS version: Sequoia 15.3.2
– Admin user: There is only one admin user on the system. This problem occurs with multiple external hard drives, whether they are single drives or RAID setups, and it persists regardless of whether I use a hub or not.

When I attempt a secure erase, the process starts but then aborts after a short while, leaving me with the same error message attached to the specific enclosure. Additionally, running ‘First Aid’ in Disk Utility does not resolve any issues.

Importantly, none of the drives in question have a password set that could be causing these problems. While I can format the disk using the terminal, I am unsure how to execute a secure erase through that method.

It is frustrating that this issue is happening at all, especially when it should work without complication. I plan to restart my MacBook Pro and try the formatting process again to see if it resolves the problem.

If anyone has suggestions or solutions, they would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help,

Magnus

I want to clarify that I do not have “Messages in iCloud” enabled. I have never utilized this feature and have no intentions of doing so.

Until about a month ago, if I received text messages while my Mac was off, those messages would still appear once I turned my Mac back on. However, this functionality ceased a few weeks ago.

Now, texts received during the times when my Mac is off are no longer appearing on my device. I have verified that Text Message Forwarding is correctly set up on my iPhone.

In fact, I have toggled it off and on as a troubleshooting step. Additionally, I have logged off from Messages on my Mac and then logged back in to see if that would resolve the issue.

Interestingly, I can still receive texts sent to me while my Mac is on, which indicates that the forwarding feature is operational. I do not recall making any changes to my Mac’s settings in the past few weeks, nor have I conducted any system updates that could have affected this feature.

I am reaching out to see if anyone has insight into what might be causing this problem. More importantly, I would appreciate any suggestions on how to resolve the issue and restore the previous functionality.

I am experiencing a concerning issue with my MacBook Pro. A yellow border has unexpectedly appeared around the Windows interface when using an external monitor. Interestingly, this problem does not extend to the built-in Retina display, which operates normally. To troubleshoot the problem, I first looked into the accessibility settings to determine if any configurations might be causing this visual anomaly.

However, after thorough checking, I found nothing seemingly out of the ordinary. Notably, the full keyboard access feature is turned off, so it should not be contributing to the yellow border issue. Additionally, I have not installed or activated any software that would capture my screen or create visual overlays. Given this, I am left puzzled about why the yellow borders are present only on the external monitor.

This distraction is quite troubling, and I am eager to find a solution that can eliminate the issue without affecting my workflow. If anyone has encountered a similar experience or has suggestions for troubleshooting this problem, I would greatly appreciate your insights. Resolving this would significantly improve my usage of the external monitor and help restore the usual seamless experience I expect from my MacBook Pro. Thank you in advance for any assistance offered.

You seem to be dealing with a significant amount of unallocated space on your internal disk, totaling 370.08GB. This can occur due to various factors, ranging from incomplete partitioning to leftover space after resizing volumes.

Below are some steps to help you reclaim that space. First, ensure your data is backed up before proceeding.

Use Time Machine or another backup solution to secure your files, as disk operations can lead to data loss if something goes wrong. Next, open the Terminal application.

You can find this in Applications under Utilities. To see your current disk structure and partitions, use the command:

diskutil list

You already have this information, which shows your disk configuration.

Since there’s unallocated space, you’ll want to merge that back into your existing APFS container. To do this, execute the following command in Terminal:

diskutil apfs resizeContainer disk0s2 0

This command attempts to resize the APFS container to fill all available space.

The “0” indicates that you want to maximize the container to use the full capacity of the disk. After running the command, check if the space has been reclaimed by using:

diskutil list

The output should show the APFS container now utilizing the additional 370.08GB of space.

If this method doesn’t work or if you encounter error messages, you may need to consider using Disk Utility in Recovery Mode or third-party partition management tools. Finally, regularly maintaining your disk with the occasional check and cleanup can prevent similar issues from arising in the future.

I am planning to convert an iMac 5K from late 2015 into an external monitor for my MacBook Pro M1 Max and MacBook Pro M2 Max. My main goal is to utilize the impressive screen resolution of 5120 x 2880, along with retaining the functionalities of the camera and speakers from the original iMac. To achieve this, I have conducted some research and found a board available on AliExpress that may suit my needs. However, I am unsure about its compatibility with my project requirements.

It’s crucial for me to ensure that any components I purchase will work seamlessly together and allow me to benefit from the iMac’s high resolution and built-in audio and video features. I would appreciate your guidance on the best approach to take for this conversion. Specifically, I am looking for recommendations on any additional hardware, adapters, or boards that I might need, as well as steps I should follow to ensure a successful setup. If you have experience with similar projects or insights into the compatibility of various components, your advice would be invaluable.

I want to make sure that I can maximize the potential of both my iMac and my MacBook Pro systems. Thank you for your assistance!