One of my GitHub Actions, mssqlsuite makes it ultra easy to install SQL Server on Linux, Windows and macOS runners. When working on the macOS portion, I was surprised that docker was not built-in. Turns out, GitHub had to remove docker from the macOS images because of licensing issues. Workarounds One of the most …

I've used ExpressVPN for years and it's worked great on all my devices until one day, when it stopped even trying to make a connection from my Mac Mini. As soon as I'd hit the connect button, it said it couldn't detect an internet connection -- even though I totally had an Internet connection. So I uninstalled, …

About a month ago, my beloved Thunderbolt display began buzzing. After some research, it seemed that there could be all sorts of solutions. The one that seemed to almost always work was sending off the monitor to get the power supply fixed. Apparently, there's an issue with the power supply that can be confirmed if you …

After finding that it suited my requirements, I finally decided on a solid VPN - F-Secure Freedome - as recommended by a friend in security. Then I needed to share my connection with my Roku, but Freedome is an application that has to be run on a phone or computer and routers aren't supported. Once I confirmed that …

I've been using Mac OS X for a while now, but upgraded to a 13-inch Macbook Pro Retina about a year ago. I love having access to the command line and I just RDP when I need to do anything on a Windows machine at work. I often find myself needing to access my NAS and networking is one of the only features of OS X to …

I recently discovered NoMachine's NX while looking for an easy way to encrypt VNC. NX, if you aren't familiar with it, is generally a PITA to setup, but well worth the pain (on Linux anyway). All traffic goes over SSH and while the performance isn't as great as Windows' RDP, it's faster and more secure than VNC. …

Need to uninstall xquartz but keep running into the following error? macbook:~ clem$ sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchAgents/org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist launchctl: Error unloading: org.macosforge.xquartz.startx For whatever reason, you have to run this particular unload as a regular user and not as root …

Note: This post targets OS X Lion and Mountain Lion era networking. Modern macOS releases use pf instead of ipfw/natd and Internet Sharing behavior and interfaces have changed. The approach below remains historically accurate for those versions but is not intended for current macOS. It appears Apple changed the way NAT …

I recently modified my Parallels DHCP settings because I'm really particular about the internal subnets I work with in the lab (192.168 is the ugliest subnet ever). Once I modified the file at /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/networking (OS X) my Parallels Desktop erred out and said Interface vmnet1 is not present. …

This setup is so unlikely, I doubt anyone on the 'net will be looking for this solution but: if you're an eBook loving Windows developer who uses a Macbook Pro for your primary workstation, this may appeal to you. My Macbook Pro runs Windows 7 within Parallels. It's fast and slick and I <3 it. My eBook reader of …