A large collection of high resolution Apple hardware icons is bundled right in macOS, including great icons for nearly all vaguely recent Mac models, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro, and much more, going all the way back to the G4 series.
To access the hidden hardware icon pack:
• From the Finder's Go menu choose "Go to Folder" and enter the following path:
/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/
• Scroll down until you start finding .icns files named “com.apple” followed by the hardware name
Many of these icons are what you find when using network sharing with a computer they match, but they also make for an excellent way to dress up your matching Mac, for example by replacing the generic Macintosh HD icon or anything else.
Many people equate productivity with screen size and assume it's difficult to get much work done on a small screen. Here are four ways to maximize productivity on small Mac laptop screens.
Hide inactive apps. Use Command+Option+H to hide all applications and windows except for the active app, also you can Option+Click out of a specific app to hide it as you begin working elsewhere. Hidden apps are easy to identify if you use Cocktail to enable transparent icons for hidden applications in the Dock (Interface > Dock).
Auto-hide the Dock. Hit Command+Option+D to enable auto-hiding of the Dock, summon it when needed by swiping to the bottom of the screen with the cursor. Dock is a great app launcher but keep it hidden when not in use.
Use full screen apps. Full screen apps help you stay focused and make the most of small screens. This feature was designed with Mac laptops in mind, so don’t forget to use it.
Use virtual desktops. Create new desktops through Mission Control by hovering over the right corner and clicking the + button. Use this with full screen apps to create a great desktop workflow that can be quickly swiped between.
In the old days you could reset a login password via a Mac's OS X installer disc. But with no such discs, what to do?
To reset a login password in OS X Mountain Lion or later, restart the Mac and hold down Command-R to boot into the Recovery HD partition. From the Utilities menu, choose Terminal to open it. In Terminal type:
resetpassword
and press Return.
In macOS Sierra and macOS High Sierra, an Reset Password assistant will launch. Choose the user account or admin account you want to reset the password for. Enter a new password, confirm the new password, set (if you like) a password hint and then click on "Next" to set the new password for the account in question. Choose to "Restart" the Mac and when the Mac boots up, use the newly reset password to login to the computer.
In OS X Mountain Lion, OS X Mavericks, OS X Yosemite and OS X El Capitan, a Reset Password window will appear that will list all the bootable volumes attached to your Mac. Select the volume that contains the account you want to reset and choose the user name that needs its password reset. Enter and verify a new passwords in the appropriate fields and, if you like, enter a password hint. Click Save and the new password is applied to the account.
Trash is one of those overlooked aspects of macOS that you probably don't think much about. That's fine, but there are also a handful of genuinely useful keyboard shortcuts that pertain to Trash on the Mac, and if you spend any time in the file system they're worth learning.
Send an item to Trash instantly.
Command+Delete with any file or folder selected will send it instantly to the Trash.
Return items from Trash to original location.
Command+Delete with anything currently in the Trash selected returns it to the original location in the file system. You can also access this by right-clicking an item and choosing "Put Back".
Empty Trash.
Shift+Command+Delete will immediately empty the Trash. This is the safer approach since it brings up the warning dialog telling you the action is permanent.
Empty Trash without warning.
Shift+Option(Alt)+Command+Delete will immediately force empty the Trash with no warnings, regardless of what's in the Trash.
macOS High Sierra is easy to install. However, we recommend a full back up before you install it.
Apple makes it very easy to back up your Mac using Time Machine, so there is no excuse not to create a Time Machine backup before installing macOS High Sierra.
Follow these steps to back up your Mac using Time Machine.
• Connect an external hard drive to your Mac. Choose a new hard drive, or one that you don't mind erasing.
• An alert may appear asking if you want to use the drive to backup your Mac. If so, Use as Backup Disk.
• If not, open System Preferences > Time Machine and click Select Backup Disk. Choose the external drive.
• Switch Time Machine to On.
• A progress bar will appear in the Time Machine system preference pane. Wait for the Time Machine backup to complete before continuing with the macOS High Sierra installation.
Follow these instructions to install the macOS High Sierra update on your Mac.
• Once you've backed up your Mac, launch the App Store (located in /Applications) and search for macOS High Sierra.
• Click Download to initiate the download, and fill out your Apple ID information if prompted. Download progress will appear in your Purchases tab.
• Once the download has finished, you'll see a macOS High Sierra installer launch. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish installing the software update, which should take around half an hour depending on the spec of your Mac.