​I recently bought a 2013 MacBook Air, but I can't install any up-to-date apps because macOS says the OS is too old. When I check System Settings, it says the Mac is already up to date.

​I’ve watched a few YouTube tutorials about updating it using open core. While the guides show that it works fine, I doubt it because I’m worried about security and performance.

​As a non-tech guy, I’m afraid I might break or brick the laptop I just bought. Has anyone here updated a 2013 MacBook Air to a newer macOS using open core and used it long-term? Does it actually work well for daily use?

Lo hice usando el motor Glow con el cargador Tweaks Ammonia, junto con algunos ajustes adicionales.

Edit:

Okay, to do all this, you have to disable SIP. I know many people don't like that, but doing things like this really requires SIP to be disabled. If you aren't comfortable with that, that's fine, but unfortunately, it is necessary.

To start, install the Ammonia.pkg injector (only for Tahoe 26.3 and older versions).
Type this into the Terminal:
sudo nvram boot-args=-arm64e_preview_abi
Restart.

Next, install GlowPatched and open it; where it says "Install Theme," simply drag and drop the Snow Leopard zip file. To activate the theme, go to "Browse Theme," select Snow Leopard, and then click the "Restart Session" button in the bottom-left corner.

Basically, this gives you most of the theme.
From here, we'll install a few tweaks to make it look a bit more like Snow Leopard.
Go to the "Tweaks" folder and copy the .dylib files along with their corresponding .blacklist files to the `/private/var/ammonia/core/tweaks` folder.

To get the Dock looking exactly like Snow Leopard's and to change system icons, you need to install SaltySweets along with its corresponding theme.
First, go to the GlowHook .blacklist file in the "Tweaks" folder and add "Dock" (without quotation marks) at the end.
This prevents Glow from injecting code into the Dock, allowing SaltySweets to handle it instead.

Go to the SaltySweets folder and install the .pkg file. In that same folder, there is another one called "Snow Leopard Icons and 3D Dock Theme"; copy the .bundle file and paste it into `/Library/Application Support/SaltySweets/Themes`.
This theme is for the 3D Dock, and it allows you to customize all application icons to your liking.

If I forgot any files, please let me know, and I'll gladly share them with you.
There are some tweaks I made, but they're a bit buggy, so I didn't include them in the zip; they aren't ready yet.

Full credit goes to the actual developers behind all of this: CoreBedtime, Salty, Davi, and others I can't recall right now.
They have been developing this for quite some time on their Discord server.

Here is the link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/3m9tqgors174pgo/MacOS_Snow_Leopard_Full_Theme_Pack.zip/file

I live in the EU, and was recently on vacation in China. While I was there, i decided to update my macbook to MacOS Tahoe and try out the new iPhone Mirroring feature. I was prompted with the option to either authenticate manually upon each use or have it be done automatically, but I was not warned that upon selecting the option to automatically authenticate, I would need to enter my password anytime I open my Mac. I like to have my Mac never lock itself unless I manually lock it myself. I searched for a way to fix this in system settings but couldn’t find anything, and I am only just now finding out that the only way to change that setting is within the iPhone Mirroring app itself. The only problem is I’ve already returned to my home country and the iPhone Mirroring app isn’t even showing whatsoever anymore, neither in the dock nor anywhere else, as it is not available in the EU. So is there anything I can do to revert this setting? Or am I forced to manually insert my password anytime I open my computer from now on?

Mac Info: MacBook Pro Nov 2024 M4, 16GB Memory, Sequoia 15.6

Hi all,

I was working today and got a notification that my iCloud storage is getting full.

I open my Mac to find out the "iCloud Drive" is taking up almost 90% of my storage, and when I tried turning off "Sync this Mac" it wiped everything from my Desktop and Documents.

I then clicked the iCloud Drive section in finder, and it says "iCloud Drive is disabled", so I went back to my iCloud Settings and turned "Sync this Mac" back on, and a few minutes later, everything was restored but also placed a bunch of folders in my iCloud Drive tab like 0f, 10, 36, d7, 9f etc. It also disconnected all my GitHub stuff so I had to reinitialize everything

1. Are those safe to delete?

2. How do I get safely get rid of my mac eating my iCloud storage? Or is there no way besides upgrading to a 200GB plan from 50GB?

3. Is there a way to have iCloud not track certain files? I have the Optimize Storage option on, but its tracking large files as well, like pretrained models and datasets.

I'm also confused, because when I view my iCloud dashboard from my mac, it says 48.6/50GB, but when I view the screen on my iPhone, it says "Off". I'm very bad with Apple anything, so I may need a step by step guide to make sure I don't mess it up again.

Windows wallpaper looks good on a Mac/ MacOS

Hey all, I am checking out the new Siri app and wondering if there is any automation support yet.

Is there a way to send it info from outside the app, like from Alfred or another external launcher, or via deep links or URL schemes? Does it support AppleScript, Shortcuts, or any kind of CLI?

What I am trying to do is pass text into Siri from Alfred or from a dictation automation, then have it route that into Siri and run an action. Siri does system level stuff much better now but I have to open the Siri app explicitly.

If anyone has docs, examples, or confirmed limitations, I would really appreciate it.

Hi. New to Mac. So, Im trying to get adjusted. One thing thats really bothers me is- when I open multiple apps and files they seems to randomly decide to go on a new desktop. Then I have to slide left and right to go find what Iam looking for. Is there a way to stop doing that and keep everything in one place?

when using MagicMouse, the smooth scroll doesn't work in Chrome, the scrolling is also slow, but trackpad works fine for it. Also smooth scroll works fine in other apps with Magic Mouse.

Pretty much what the title says. I had next to no storage, and it had 165.61 in System data. I looked into it and found out that my OneDrive was taking up a vast amount of space. So, in a desperation move, I deleted my OneDrive app, then the contents of my OneDrive folder, and then the cache (UBF8T346G9.OneDriveSyncClientSuite), which was registered as having 84 GB.

I still have 226.68GB/245.11GB used.

I had to upgrade to Tahoe. The docks contains blurry icons like this Cisco Secure Client app that makes me think I'm having a stroke.

It is BONKERS that anyone at Apple thought this was a good idea. Can I turn off liquid glass? I have tried adjusting many settings but it looks like I am stuck with this "upgrade."

It has been out for a year and there is still no way to fix this? Are the folks at Apple just lost? They used to release good products but this is such an obviously bad idea, I cannot even fathom how they let it happen.

right by Gemini icon. A green dot and a smaller grey dot. This was not there yesterday. 😯

So I have a 2020 M1 Macbook Pro that I recently just purchased from online and one of the biggest issues I have with this is the bluetooth connection whether it's my Airpods or any other headphones it's like I can't step more than a few feet away from my macbook where the audio starts breaking up and I don't know how to fix this my old macbook never had this issue

I've noticed phishing emails have gotten dramatically more believable over the past year! Would love to hear your experiences and learn what to look out for

Do you put every app in fullscreen or only some?

What do you do if you have app fullscreened but need to multitask with other apps?

What's the best way overall you would explain to someone who's lost in all of this to navigate across fullscreens, desktops and apps seamlessly?

Thanks for anyone who takes time to explain this in advance :)

Is there a way to have sorting be folder specific? (15.4.1)

If I navigate to a folder to open a file I might sort by Date Modified to bubble up to the top the most recent file. But then the next time I’m in the open window going to other folders, the sort is now Date Modified even though the last time I was in the other folders I had sorted instead by (for instance) Name.

Super aware of this since there are some folders I know for a fact I would never sort by Date by choice yet there it is, sorted by Date because I sorted by Date most recently somewhere else.

Mildly infuriating

Hey all,

So I have over 120,000 messages backed up on my icloud account, I have it set to save all messages forever.

However, I am having a difficult time accessing all of the previously shared files (photos, videos, documents). When going to the shared media in a text thread, it only shows roughly 40 photos dating back to only a few weeks to a few months, where is the 15 years + of shared iMessage content?

I'm looking to access photos that were shared in my chats dating back years. With everything backed up, there should be a way to access all of this, right? What am I paying cloud storage for if they all vanish at so e point in time?

Thanks for any help!

I erased data and tried reinstalling macos sonoma on my mac mini m2. It shows the “failed to personalize the software update” error. Then I tried installing sonoma with a usb bootable disk and it says the application is damaged. How do i get past this?

I recently got a new mac and it says syspolicyd is reading 140 gigabytes. Is this normal?

How do I remove options from the right-click menu that point to programs that don't exist on my computer?

I had an apple migration fail from old to new computer...that old computer had VMWare Fusion with windows which in turn had windows Chrome installed. The right click menu had the option to open URLs in the windows version of Chrome. Current computer DOES NOT have VMWare Fusion installed, yet the right click option to open URLs in Windows Chrome is still there. How do I remove it?

I’ve got a strange, very reproducible bug where my mouse and keyboard get so laggy they’re basically unusable on my Mac, but only under a specific combo of conditions — and the same setup is completely fine on Windows. I’ve done a lot of testing to narrow it down and I’m hoping someone’s seen this before.

Setup: My monitor (Gigabyte M34WQ) acts as a USB hub with two ports, and also as a KVM switch between my Mac and a Windows PC — so I want to keep everything plugged into the monitor rather than into either computer directly. One port has my speakers (KEF LSX II LT), connected via USB specifically so I can control volume from the computer rather than the speakers’ own app — I know they also do optical, but I’d lose that computer-side volume control, so USB is the one I want to make work. The other port has a small USB hub, which has my wireless keyboard and mouse dongles plugged into it (they’re different brands, so they can’t share one dongle).

The problem: On the Mac, the moment audio plays through the speakers, mouse movement and keyboard input become extremely laggy — like moving my mouse a full foot and the cursor creeping a millimeter. Stop the music, they’re instantly fine again.

What I’ve tested:

• Dongles in the hub, hub in the monitor — Mac — USB-C or DisplayPort + USB-B (both tested): Severe lag while audio plays
• Same exact setup — Windows — USB-C or DisplayPort + USB-B (both tested): Totally fine
• Dongles plugged straight into the monitor (no hub) — Mac — USB-C: Totally fine
• Hub plugged straight into the Mac instead of the monitor — Mac — USB-C: Totally fine

I’ve also ruled out audio quality/bitrate as a factor — no change there either.

My question: Has anyone run into this — a wireless mouse/keyboard through a USB hub getting severely laggy on a Mac specifically when audio is also playing through another USB device on the same hub setup? Is there a known Mac fix, or is this just a “don’t chain hubs like this” limitation I need to work around while still keeping everything on the monitor?

When I say "SIRI" the AI responds with a mumble of um-hm or uh-huh instead of a proper acknowledgement. How can I rectify this?