Reading visual art: 113 Constellations B

Ariadne's Corona Borealis, a difficult reading from Tintoretto, celestial spheres, constellations of summer, and signs of the zodiac. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Skint version 1.03 fixes bugs that could give false negatives

Fixes a bug that could in some circumstances incorrectly report that everything is OK, when it isn’t. Recommended for all, Monterey and later only. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Reading visual art: 112 Constellations A

Ursa Major, often the only constellation people know today, the Milky Way, the Pleiades, and Sagittarius. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Share your Mac’s display and control

AirPlay, SharePlay, Universal Control, VNC, Target Display and Target Disk: which does what, and how do you enable and use them? | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Apple has just released an update to XProtect

Apple has just released an update to XProtect for all versions of macOS from El Capitan or so, bringing it to version 2185. Apple doesn’t release information about what security issues this u… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Changing Paintings: 6 Callisto victimised

Jupiter rapes an Arcadian nymph and follower of Diana, who is then cast out, turned into a bear by Juno, and almost killed by her son. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Solutions to Saturday Mac riddles 242

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 242. Here are my solutions to them. 1: Plane writing surface for ready-use documents. Click for a solution Desktop Plane writing surfac… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Can you avoid a forced upgrade to Sonoma?

Can your Mac be protected from a forced upgrade to Sonoma by disabling the upgrade notification? What are the risks now? | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Almost an Impressionist: Commemorating the death of Jean-François Raffaëlli 2

From 1890, he painted views of Paris in increasingly loose style. Recognised internationally, he served on the jury for the Carnegie, and competed at the 1912 Olympics. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Last Week on My Mac: Back to USB basics

PC users will get 20 Gbit/s and SMART health indicators from this new external SSD, but Mac users will only see half that speed and no SMART without reducing security. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Almost an Impressionist: Commemorating the death of Jean-François Raffaëlli 1

Initially a social realist, he painted those on the edge of Paris society, including rag pickers and a garlic seller, but was rejected by Monet. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Saturday Mac riddles 242

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation. 1: Plane writing surface for ready-use documents. 2: Hidden collection of books for app use.… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Why have there been so many XProtect updates?

In the first 6 weeks of this year, Apple has released 5 updates to XProtect containing 11 completely new detection rules for malware. Why? | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

High: Contents and locations

Contents with links for each article in the series, with lists of mountains and locations covered. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

How to deal with XProtect Remediator (XPR) problems

No scans? Malware detected and remediated? Or just an odd report that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere? How to deal with each of them. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Apple has released an update for Sonoma to version 14.3.1

Apple has just released an update to bring macOS Sonoma to version 14.3.1. This fixes bugs, the most notable of which results in confusion of text when composing messages in Mail. Although that did… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

An unsettling eye: Félix Vallotton’s domestic interiors

Ten domestic interiors, places we take for granted, but Vallotton makes them thoroughly unsettling, with oddities and open narratives. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Reading visual art: 111 Lyre B

Played by warriors including Paris of Troy and Achilles, also by Saint Cecilia, angels, and a siren. And with only one string left, in Watts’ allegory of Hope. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Why is my Mac working so hard after startup? What’s CGPDFService?

When you start your Mac up, the fans blow full on, and you see CGPDFServices taking lots of CPU %. Is this malware? No, but it’s new in Sonoma. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Reading visual art: 110 Lyre A

In classical times, they were strummed like a guitar rather than plucked. Apollo, Orpheus and lyric poets from Raphael, Rubens, Waterhouse and others. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Summary of macOS VM performance on Apple silicon Macs

Virtualisation of macOS on Apple silicon does deliver performance that’s impressively close to that of the host. Here are the figures to demonstrate it. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Apple has just released updates to XProtect and XProtect Remediator

Apple has just released updates to XProtect Remediator security software (Catalina or later), bringing it to version 125, and to XProtect (for all macOS from El Capitan or so) bringing it to versio… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Changing Paintings: 5 Fall of Phaëthon

Young Phaëthon challenges the god of the sun, Phoebus, to prove he is his father, and takes his chariot on a ride to disaster and death. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Solutions to Saturday Mac riddles 241

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 241. Here are my solutions to them. 1: Energy unit and a pin for your washing is still most common for images. Click for a solution JPE… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Troubleshooting your Mac’s security with Skint 1.02

Adds a detailed Help book, supports macOS betas, can disable log checks for use in standard user accounts, checks log times, and has auto-update. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Paintings of Pompeii: 2 The city remembered

By the end of the 18th century, remains of Pompeii were being excavated and inspired painters to re-imagine life and death in the city. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Last Week on My Mac: Wobbling plates and bflost16 support

The new number format could bring huge speed gains, as well as reducing storage space. But when an instruction was tested, Xcode wouldn’t support it. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Paintings of Pompeii: 1 Before the eruption

When Pompeii was buried by debris from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, many fine Roman paintings were preserved. Here’s a selection. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Saturday Mac riddles 241

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation. 1: Energy unit and a pin for your washing is still most common for images. 2: Petty quarrel … | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Mines of information

Where can you look if you can’t find it in System Information? What if you need that value or setting in a script or app? Here are some suggestions. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

High: Alpine Miscellany

Mountain paintings by JMW Turner, John Ruskin, John Brett, and Georg Janny. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

What is a snapshot, and how does it work?

How are snapshots made, and what do they contain? How are they sized, and can they grow? How can you copy a snapshot, or remove a file from one? | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

In memoriam Maurice Prendergast who died a century ago

Best-known for his watercolours of Venice, he was a Post-Impressionist, and an early promoter of the art of Cézanne and Matisse in the US. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

PDF, Live Text and Spotlight: troubled relationships

Searching the text content of PDF documents often doesn't work well, sometimes not at all. And recovering what you can see is text can also fail miserably. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Reading visual art: 109 Candles for effect

An early Rembrandt, chiaroscuro lighting, one of Adam Elsheimer's oil on copper paintings, above Frederick the Great, and adorning Goya's painting hat. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Apple has released an update to XProtect

Overnight, Apple released an update to XProtect for all versions of macOS from El Capitan or so, bringing it to version 2183. Apple doesn’t release information about what security issues this… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Skint 1.01 fixes SSV checks on Macs with multiple boot systems

If you run a Mac with more than one boot system, this update should enable it to check the SSV, although some Macs remain different. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Reading visual art: 108 Candles as symbols

Candles in Candlemas, as votives, at pardons and funerals, and snuffed out as part of excommunication. Used in sorcery, allegory, and Vanitas. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

The World According to Macintosh (in 1994)

An article published in The Mac 30 years ago to celebrate the Mac’s tenth birthday, with a glance back at the realities, and some predictions of the future in 2004. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Changing Paintings: 4 Io as a cow, the eyes of Argus, and Syrinx

Jupiter wants Io, but after raping her turns her into a cow for safe-keeping. Juno suspects, though, and puts the cow under the watchful hundred eyes of Argus. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Solutions to Saturday Mac riddles 240

I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 240. Here are my solutions to them. 1: Before the driver’s eyes with a measure of spirits for a display image. Click for a soluti… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Skint will keep a quiet eye on your Mac’s key settings

Checks 8 key settings and functions essential for your Mac’s security and well-being, from whether SIP is enabled to XProtect. Runs automatically every hour, or as a single-shot. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Mad, bad and dangerous to know: Paintings of Medea 2

She tricks the daughters of King Pelias to murder him, then flees to Corinth, where Jason abandons her. She murders his bride with a poisoned wedding dress, then kills her two children. After that, she tries to kill the young Theseus. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Last Week on My Mac: Nelson’s blind eye, lost property and macOS

We excel at ignoring and forgetting. While Apple is very keen to get us to upgrade macOS, it's less concerned that its security protection is up to date and running as expected. Here's my answer: Skint. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Mad, bad and dangerous to know: Paintings of Medea 1

She agrees to help Jason complete his three tasks and take possession of the Golden Fleece, in return for which Jason will marry her. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Saturday Mac riddles 240

Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation. 1: Before the driver’s eyes with a measure of spirits for a display image. 2: Person s… | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Preserving the evidence: what to do when something serious goes wrong

Safeguard your Mac, take screenshots, capture the logs in a logarchive or with sysdiagnose, make a written record, then repair and recovery. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago

Commemorating the Death of Théodore Géricault: 3 Madness and Death

Declining health, tuberculosis and riding accidents, but he still painted the Epsom Derby, Mazappa, and ten portraits of those with psychiatric illness. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 11 months ago