macOS Archives

Anything related to Apple, Macs and macOS

How to setup AirPods (1st generation) with a MacBook Pro (2011)

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I really like my first generation AirPods. I use them on my 2012-2018 devices all the time, but I had never tried them on my old MacBook Pro from 2011. I had always assumed they probably use some low-energy version of Bluetooth 4 or whatnot, expecting they won’t work. But I was wrong! They DO … Read more

Creating New Emails in Split View on macOS

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I’ve discovered that when I respond to emails on my Mac Book, the default Apple Mail programme started opening my new message windows in a split screen view. Previously this wasn’t happening, and instead a new message would be presented as an overlay on top of the whole mail window (I believe they called it a Modal Dialogue).

Don’t get me wrong, I like the split screen thing – but I always wanted to know where this setting was, and why it was now magically switched on since I wasn’t involved in this design decision. I’m a bit of an stick-in-the-mud sometimes and a tad pernickety about preserving my user experience.

Thankfully it’s easy to find – but in case you’re stumped, here’s where to enable/disable this experience. In Apple Mail, head over to Preferences – General (the first tab). At the bottom you’ll see a tick box labelled prefer opening emails in split view when in full scren.

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Pairing an Apple Keyboard with Windows 10

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In this episode I’ll show you how to successfully pair an Apple Wireless Magic Keyboard (first generation, MC184B/A) with Windows 10 (Version 1809). I’ve found so much conflicting information on the web, so I’m showing you what worked for me – in May 2019. I’m using a HP Z800 Workstation here, with a no-frills Belkin … Read more

Installing Windows 10 on a MacBook Pro (2011) without Bootcamp

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I love my old MacBook Pro. It does everything I want for a portable coding, writing and occasional editing device. I’ve had it since 2011 and it’s still going strong.

Apple however doesn’t want to suport it anymore. I’m stuck with macOS High Sierra, without an option to upgrade without shadowy patches. Even if I could keep up with Mojave and beyond, the hardware might just not be fast enough anymore to give me an enjoyable experience.

So I thought, perhaps I’ll put in a new hard drive that I had in another old laptop and install Windows 10 on it. Apple’s recommended way is to do all this from macOS, using their own Bootcamp setup. However, being the hacker that I am, I thought perhaps I’ll try the “Windows Only” experience.

I did this in two live streams the other night, and continued the process over the following days – and now I’ve got a (more or less working) Windows 10 installation on my MacBook Pro (early 2011 Edition). I thought I’d take some notes on how I did this step by step, and give you my opinions if this was an adventure worth undertaking.

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Where is Stream Deck profile data saved

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I wanted to move my Stream Deck Profile Data over to another machine. I had previously setup several shortcuts and actions and wanted to sue the same setup on another system. Turns out Elgato’s Stream Deck software saves such data in a similar location as OBS Studio does. Here’s the full path: Windows On Windows … Read more