Monthly Archives: February 2020

fixed : quick way to make hidden files visible on macOS

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I sometimes need to view the invisible files on my Mac. I know I can do this using the Terminal.app, but isn’t there an easier way to do this ?

 

Answer :

To turn on the ‘Hidden File Viewer’ (or ‘Invisible File Viewer’) mode in MacOSX, you could use the command line in Terminal.app or you could use little apps named something like ‘Hidden File Viewer’ or similar.

In macOS 10.12 Sierra and newer, there is a far simpler way to do this :

  • press the [SHIFT] + [CMD] + [.] key-combo on your keyboard

Using this key-combo, you can switch the visibility of invisible files ON or OFF.

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

Advertisement

fixed : prevent auto-capitalisation of a sentence in Notes.app on iOS

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

Every time I typ a note in Notes.app on my iPad, the first letter of the sentence automatically turns into a capital. Sometimes that’s no problem, but most of the time I would prefer an undercast letter if I’m not writing a sentence that ends in an endpoint.

Is there any way to prevent these auto-capitals ?

 

Answer :

Yes, you can prevent the auto-capitalisation of the first word of every sentence doing this :

  • Press [SHIFT] key and release it, before typing the first word of the sentence

That’s it.

note : This trick only works in Notes.app on iPhone (iOS) and iPad (iPadOS), it doesn’t work in Notes.app on macOS.

Enjoy 😉

fixed : which iOS app can I use for the LeadEdge H245 dashcam ?

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have a LeadEdge H245 dashcam (1080p & WiFi) in my car that has been doing a great job for a few years now.

Recently, I switched to a new iPhone and in an attempt to free some space by deleting apps that I seldomly use, I have deleted the app that I had installed for my LeadEdge H245 dashcam…

And now I want to get some video of my dashcam and I therefore need to reinstall the app… but I can’t remember its name or find any info on this online…

Can you help me ?

 

Answer :

The LeadEdge H245 dashcam is a rebrand of the Novatek 96658 dashcam that is also sold as Junsun S550, Podofo, SLB Works, CarSun, Vakind and probably other brand/product names too.

There are at least 4 FREE apps that can connect to this dashcam (maybe there are more) :

  • Lerccenker.app
    • this app is pushed by LeadEdge as the app to use with your dash cam : it’s okay, but rather slow and feels a little out-dated
  • FinalCam.app
    • this app is suggested by LeadEdge as the alternative : it works, but apart from the live view, options are very limited
  • NovaCam.app
    • this app is made by Novatek and works with any Novatek-based dash cam : it’s far better than both Lerccenker.app and FinalCam.app
  • Dride.app
    • this app is made to work with any dash cam : it is fast and has a very nice user interface that is more intuitive than the NovaCamp.app (the ads are a little annoying though…)
    • note : Dride.app can also include GPS data to your dash cam videos by connecting to your iPhone (although you might find this option a little too privacy invasive…)

For all 4 of these apps, this is the way to connect to your Dash Cam :

  • turn ON the WiFi on your Dash Cam by pressing the DOWN-button on the left side of the housing until the WIFi-icon is displayed on-screen
  • then, on you iPhone, goto Settings.app > WiFi
  • on the Wi-Fi page, connect to the WiFi-network of your dash cam (probably the only one with a criptic name)
  • then open the dash cam app you want to use
  • fiddle around to get to know the options the app has, generally you can choose for ‘live video’ or ‘recorded video’ and you may also have ‘take picture’ as an option
    • additional instruction for NovaCam.app : in the Camera List, click on the Plus-icon (top-right) and click on ‘Wi-Fi’ when it appears in the list
    • additional instruction for Dride.app : choose “UGP 100 Universal Dash Cam” as your device

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : MacBook Pro sighs then hangs during startup without progress bar over and over again

Posted on by
1

Question :

I have a  2018 MacBook Pro 13″ with TouchBar and 4 Thunderbolt3 ports that seems to hang during startup : the MacBook ‘sighs’ (fan noise) during startup and shows only a black screen with a white Apple-logo, but no progress bar as usual… then it automatically restarts… and the same thing repeats itself…

Is there any way to solve this ?

 

Answer :

This might be caused by a hardware problem, so if it happens frequently, you should take your MacBook Pro to an AppleStore or authorized Apple Repair shop for repair.

But before you do so, try this, as it might fix your problem :

If you do see a progress bar during startup, look at this post :

fixed : MacBook Pro hangs during final stage of macOS startup

If you do not see a progress bar during startup, do this :

  • unplug everything else from the USB-C ports
  • now plug in the USB-C power-adapter
  • then, if you can, plug-in a USB-C-to-Ethernet-adapter and make an ethernet-connection to your network (and the Internet), if not leave it
  • then, press the ON/OFF-fingerscan-button (top-right in the Touch Bar) to restart your Mac
  • then, during restart, immediately press the [CMD]+[ALT]+[R] key-combo on your keyboard
  • keep this key-combo pressed for about 30 seconds, then release
  • now, leave your MacBook connected to power and internet overnight
  • in the morning, your MacBook will have reinstalled the latest version of macOS

…and you will be good to go 😉

If the problem persists overnight, you might want to try this also, before you decide to bring in your MacBook Pro for repair :

  • create a macOS installer on a USB-stick (or even a USB-C stick)
    • as your own MacBook Pro is not available for this, you need to do this on another Mac or ask someone to do this for you
    • instructions on doing this can be found here on Apple.com
  • then plug the USB-C stick (or USB-stick with a USB-to-USB-C-adapter) into your MacBook Pro
  • then restart your MacBook Pro, while pressing the [ALT]-key on your keyboard
  • release the [ALT]-key when the Startup Manager window opens
  • then select the USB-stick as your startup disk
  • then follow the onscreen instructions for (re)installing macOS

That’s it !

As mentioned before : if you keep running into this problem frequently, you might have a hardware problem and you should bring your MacBook Pro in for repair.

enjoy 😉

fixed : compress video for WhatsApp (or eMail)

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I would like to send a small piece of a video I just shot at a birthday party to a group of friends on WhatsApp, but it’s too big to upload.

How can I compress it for easy viewing on Whatsapp ?

 

Answer :

If you have shot the video on your iPhone you can send it right away, and iOS will do the compression for you.

However, if you already have the video on your Mac and you want to compress it before you send it using WhatsApp Desktop (for macOS), do this :

  • make sure you trim down the length of the video to a clip that only includes the most relevant part of the video
    • you can do this in QuickTime Player (included in macOS for FREE)
  • use Smart Converter (FREE from Mac AppStore) and choose ‘for iPhone or iPod’, then click ‘Convert’ to convert
    • this will convert to an .mp4 video with 1280×720 resolution at 30 frames per second and AAC sound (file size ca. 10MB per 10 seconds)
  • use Handbrake (FREE from handbrake.fr) and choose ‘Presets’ > ‘Gmail Large 3 minutes 720p30’, then click ‘Start’ to convert
    • this will convert to an .mp4 video with 1280×720 resolution at 30 frames per second and AAC sound (file size ca. 2MB per 10 seconds)

Note : even though the frame rate and screen size are the same, the ‘Gmail’-ready file will be much smaller than the ‘iPhone’-ready file, even though (or rather ‘because’) this comes with the downside that quick-moving objects will blur in the ‘Gmail’-ready video (compared to the ‘iPhone’-ready video that hardly has any blur and is similar in size and quality to the ‘Fast 720p30’ preset in Handbrake) 

That’s it !

enjoy 😉