For questions about words, phrases and definitions that are specific to Apple hardware and/or software.
Questions tagged [terminology]
15 questions
35
votes
4 answers
Difference between autopoweroff and standby in pmset
I just got a new Retina MacBook Pro 15". After getting some downloads interrupted due to the computer going to sleep (even on AC power), I started looking at the man page for the pmset command. I did solve my original problem with sleeping but a few…
swineone
- 2,161
- 8
- 28
- 40
32
votes
12 answers
How do you pronounce the clover-like key (⌘)?
How do you pronounce the clover-like key ⌘ ?
Rabarberski
- 1,114
- 2
- 11
- 22
21
votes
3 answers
What's the canonical name for the "sunburst" waiting animation?
Is there an accepted name for the spinning animation that's displayed when one needs to wait for an indefinite amount of time? It looks like this:
Daryl Spitzer
- 4,449
- 9
- 34
- 47
12
votes
1 answer
Difference between sleep, hibernate, etc
Recently I've been googling about a problem with my MB and got very confused by the use of these terms on the internets:
sleep mode
hibernate mode
safe sleep
idle sleep
standby mode
poweroff mode (autopoweroff setting in $ pmset -g)
I think some…
xaxa
- 263
- 2
- 3
- 7
11
votes
2 answers
Confusion on Metadata | Named Forks | Extended Attributes | Resource Fork -- HFS+
I think there is some general confusion on the relation between all four of these items scattered throughout the web. I wanted to get this straightened out.
Are named forks the same as extended attributes? If not, what are extended attributes?
Is…
rubixibuc
- 926
- 1
- 10
- 21
3
votes
1 answer
What's the difference, in Apple parlance, between a Cursor and a Mouse Pointer?
I tend to call it a "pointer", to distinguish it from the text cursor, and because it can be controlled without a mouse (e.g. trackpad). However, I would like to use the same kind of language Apple uses, especially when writing instructions or…
Ky -
- 1,800
- 1
- 17
- 25
2
votes
1 answer
Does iOS report usage in megabytes or mebibytes?
When looking at usage stats in iOS (data sent/received), are the megabytes/gigabytes in base-10 or base-2?
The docs are not entirely conclusive (since it doesn't address usage specifically) but suggests base-2 is used for iOS device capacities.
So…
Michael Haren
- 151
- 5
2
votes
2 answers
What do these different terms for system memory in OS X mean?
Possible Duplicate:
What does it mean if I have lots of “Inactive” memory at the end of a work day?
I just bought a MacBook Pro (I've been a Windows user before this), and I noticed that the terminology for memory is a bit different here. In…
Atul Goyal
- 2,005
- 2
- 19
- 19
1
vote
2 answers
What is the Apple / OS X name for "Alternate Data Streams"?
On old Macs before OS X files already could have two "forks" - a data fork and a resource fork.
According to Wikipedia, at some point the HFS+ filesystem of OS X gained the ability to have an arbitrary number of forks, much like Microsofts…
hippietrail
- 987
- 5
- 14
- 31
1
vote
3 answers
What do you call the OSX Window Server, Window Manager, and Desktop Environment?
In Linux we have three layers that represent the Window Server, Window Manager, and Desktop Environment. All of those three layers have more than one competing technology. I'm confused when talking about Apple products because I don't know what they…
Evan Carroll
- 282
- 2
- 16
1
vote
1 answer
Naming a Cell in Numbers
Can you define a cell's name in Numbers for use in formulas across a workbook like you can in Excel?
RBlairD
- 11
- 2
1
vote
1 answer
How can I get the "Look Up" option to find results?
How can I get the "Look Up" option to find results. In Terminal, if I select a command word then right click on it I want to use the Look Up option in the drop down menu. It is not grayed out. It just never is able to find results. Ever.
Is the…
Lisa Ann
- 515
- 6
- 14
0
votes
1 answer
What is the official name "Command Line Tools" or "Xcode Command Line Tools"?
What is the official name Command Line Tools or Xcode Command Line Tools?
If you go to https://developer.apple.com/download/all and write Command Line Tools as search criteria then in the results appear as Command Line Tools for Xcode, but in the…
Manuel Jordan
- 401
- 3
- 9
0
votes
1 answer
Is there a name for the common ground between Lion and iOS 5?
While working on the wording for another question, I wanted to refer to the parts of the Apple environment which are, by design, the same in Lion and in iOS 5.
For example, it is reasonable to expect that the available relationship types will be…
Thomas L Holaday
- 1,922
- 7
- 28
- 40
0
votes
2 answers
What is it called when your Mac doesn't fully crash?
What is it called when an app crashes and it ends up logging you out, without restarting your computer? The computer never fully turns off because the /tmp fold doesn't get reset.
10 Replies
- 267
- 2
- 10