Mac

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How to stop the new MacBook Pro from automatically turning on when the lid is open

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

Aside from the marquee Touch Bar feature and other hardware advances, the new MacBook Pro introduces a tweaked boot process where the machine automatically starts up when you open its lid or connect it to power. To avoid forcing users to listen to the startup chime every time they open the lid, Apple's also decided to disable the boot chime on the new notebook by default (you can easily re-enable it).

But what about the mentioned auto-boot features? Unfortunately, Apple does not provide user-facing switches in System Preferences to control the new boot on power and boot on lid capability. With a little help from Terminal and smart folks over at Pingie, you can manually stop the late-2016 MacBook Pro from automatically powering on when you lift the lid or connect it to a power adapter or an external display.

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How to bring back the classic boot chime on the new MacBook Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

The new MacBook Pro has ditched the iconic boot chime that's been a signature part of the Mac startup process over the last 17 years. Pingie discovered that the sound is not gone entirely. Apple's just disabled it and it's possible to bring it back should you want. In this quick tutorial, we'll show you how to re-enable the boot chime on your late-2016 MacBook Pro with a simple Terminal command.

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The different kinds of memory states on your Mac and what they mean

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 31, 2016

I was recently asked about the difference between active, inactive, and wired memory on computers. Many memory measure tools use these terms to describe your memory usage and doesn't really go into much depth about what they mean.

In this piece, I hope to shed some light on this confusion and explain the differences between these memory states the best I can.

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What Automatic Graphics Switching is on your MacBook Pro and how to use it

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 16, 2022
MacBook Pro graphics

Depending on the model of MacBook Pro you have, you may be able to physically choose whether your computer uses the high-power discreet graphics card for better performance or the low-power integrated graphics chip for better battery life by using an option known as Automatic Graphics Switching.

The feature is only available on MacBook Pros which have two Graphics Processing Units (GPU). The reason it only exists on certain models of the MacBook Pro is not all Macs have dual GPUs. And desktop Macs don’t need this as they don’t rely on batteries and are connected to a power source all the time.

Here's more about Automatic Graphics Switching and how to enable it on your Mac.

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How to disable the fake clicking sound for MacBook trackpads

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated February 21, 2023
Pressing MacBook trackpad

MacBook equipped with a Force Touch trackpad produces an audible ‘click’ sound in order to simulate the sound you would hear on a Mac without a Force Touch trackpad. It has no down travel and all you’re hearing is an audible sound when you click it. In this tutorial, we’ll talk about how to disable that fake clicking sound.

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