Mac Tip

Tip: send app crash reports to your Mac’s Notification Center

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 2, 2019

I don't know about you, but I'm annoyed every time an app crashes on my Mac and the macOS Crash Reporter interrupts my work with a pop up warning in the middle of the screen. Wouldn't it be great if those crash reports were displayed as banner notifications?

As explained by LifeHacker, a simple Terminal command will override the default system behavior and send those app crash reports straight to the macOS Notification Center, so they don't interrupt your workflow.

In this tutorial you will learn about a Terminal command which will route crash reports through your Mac's Notification Center rather than display them windowed in the middle of your screen.

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Tip: use half-star ratings in iTunes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 12, 2017

If you like to rate songs on Apple Music, including those you have purchased on the iTunes Store, chances are you will at some point want to submit your star-based ratings. Now, iTunes for Mac and Windows PCs used to support half-star ratings out of the box, but recent updates have changed this behavior to using full stars only.

Fortunately, as noted by The Loop's Dave Mark, this can be quite easily reverted back to half-star ratings with a quick Terminal command.

In this post, you will learn how to enable half-star ratings in desktop iTunes and rate music more accurately than before.

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How to open a new private window in Safari for Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 5, 2019

One of the features of the Safari web browser built into your Mac that will come in handy time and time again are the private browsing windows that you can open to browse the web privately without having your browsing history stored in your computer for the next user to see.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to open a private browsing window in Safari on your Mac so that you're ready the next time you need to perform a web search incognito.

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How to subscribe to websites with Safari’s Shared Links

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 26, 2019

Apple's Safari browser has a little known yet very useful feature called Shared Links, which basically saves in one central place links to articles that your Twitter followers and LinkedIn contacts post, and those published as RSS feeds.

Most websites, iDownloadBlog included, offer a series of regularly published articles in the form of RSS feeds that can be subscribed to in Safari so that they appear within your Shared Links section.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to subscribe to articles from websites using the Shared Links feature in Safari for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac.

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How to download older versions of iOS apps

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 25, 2015

Charles Proxy is a tool for OS X that can be used to facilitate the download of older versions of iOS apps from iTunes. It's a bit of a drawn-out exercise, but if you've ever been in need of an older version of a particular app, then you know how handy such a technique can be. In this video, which was inspired by this Reddit post, I'll show you how to download older iOS apps directly from iTunes on Mac.

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How to fix ‘Outlook can’t upgrade your database’ errors when launching Microsoft Outlook on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Last night, I decided that I would give the desktop version of Outlook a chance. Unfortunately, I ran into a problem when first launching the app. After doing a bit of troubleshooting, and lurking around the app's bundle, I was finally able to fix the issue.

If you've ever ran into the "can't upgrade your database error" when launching Outlook, then you may want to give this fix a try.

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How to control the Nest using HomeKit and Siri

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

The Nest is one of the most popular home automation devices in existence right now, but due to incompatibility with HomeKit, iOS users can't control their Nest Learning Thermostats using Siri.

Fortunately, a workaround has been found. It's called Homebridge, and it's a NodeJS server that runs on your Mac. Homebridge allows iOS devices to interface with incompatible home automation devices like the Nest using HomeKit.

This means that it is now possible to control the Nest with Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad using Siri. No jailbreak required.

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How to save serious money with Apple-Certified Refurbished hardware deals

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

I'm a big believer in taking advantage of Apple-Certified Refurbished hardware sales. Not only do its refurbished models undergo extra scrutiny, but each product is backed up by a 1-year warranty, are Apple Care eligible, and come with free shipping.

The real draw to buying Apple-Certified Refurbished hardware is the amount of money that you can save on hardware. It's not uncommon to find hardware going anywhere from 15% to 24% off retail price.

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How to control your Mac with the Siri Remote

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Better Touch Tool, one of the most useful power-user utilities available for macOS has been updated to include support for Siri Remote control. The update, which is currently available as an alpha version download, lets you control your mouse with the Siri Remote, as well as assign shortcuts and mouse clicks to the Touch Surface and each of the remote's buttons.

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