XDA Basics: How to Delete the Hidden Download Log on Mac

Did you know that every time you download something onto your Mac, a record of that downloaded file is added to a log and kept in your system? It can be anything from a Google image, a PDF document from your boss, or a pirated copy of the latest movie at the theater. If you download it to your Mac laptop hard drive, a record of it is going to be made on the log.

Apple doesn’t advertise that this is done and I personally have no clue why it’s done. Perhaps it’s for troubleshooting reasons, who knows? But from a privacy perspective, this is quite intrusive, especially if someone is snooping around your computer and knows where to locate the log. If you’re in the habit of downloading a lot, having a log of every single thing you have downloaded is of course not convenient.

To find out how to delete the hidden download log on your Mac, read on.

First, Locate the Log

It’s very easy to find the log. Open a Terminal window and type :

sqlite3 ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices.QuarantineEventsV* 'select LSQuarantineDataURLString from LSQuarantineEvent'

This will then produce a complete list of your downloads, since the last time you deleted it. If this is your first time viewing the list, the list may very well go back to the first day you bought your Mac!

Now, Delete the Log

Deleting it is also not difficult. Simply type into Terminal :

sqlite3 ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices.QuarantineEventsV* 'delete from LSQuarantineEvent'

The download list will now be wiped. If you run the first command again, you will now get a blank list.

You should ideally make a habit of doing this once a week or once a month, depending on how much you download, and who else has access to your Mac laptop. To make the task easier, you can run an Automator script with the command so it can be done with just a click of the mouse or trackpad.

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Macs are otherwise great computing machines, thanks to their combination of software, hardware, and even the Mac accessories ecosystem. But if this download logging turns you away, you can explore other options as mentioned in our Best Laptops list.

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Sony launches its first 32-inch Bravia TV in India powered by Android TV

Sony has announced a new smart TV in India powered by Google’s Android TV platform. The Sony Bravia 32W830 is the smallest Android TV with support for Google Assistant offered by Sony. But at the same time, it is also one of the most expensive 32-inch smart televisions on the market, priced at ₹31,900. The Sony 32W830 features support for Google Assistant, so you can give voice commands via the included remote control or using any compatible smart speaker.  While there is no confirmation regarding the version of Android, there is, however, support for Google Chromecast built-in for casting video or audio via a compatible device.

This is an HD-ready television with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, which is fairly low considering the competition, but specifications suggest that the TV can go up to 1080p 60Hz via the HDMI port. Sony also says that the TV has support for HDR, including HDR10 and HLG formats. On top of that, you also get Sony’s X-Reality Pro picture processing technology, and X-Protection Pro ensures that the TV lasts long. As for the I/O, you get three HDMI ports, two USB ports, a 3.5mm audio output, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.2. Other features include HDMI ARC support, stereo speakers with rated 20W of audio output with Dolby Audio, and 16GB of internal storage for apps and data.

Compared to the variety of smart TVs available in India from brands like Xiaomi, Samsung, LG, Vu, and even new entrants like Realme and OnePlus, Sony’s offering is definitely overpriced. However, it seems that the company is relying on its premium picture panel quality and its fairly reliable after-sales networks in the country. Apart from the resolution, the Sony Bravia 32W830 is a well-packed Android smart TV, and has the potential to appeal to users who want a premium experience but on a smaller screen size.

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Here’s our best look yet at Samsung’s new laptops and tablet ahead of Galaxy Unpacked

Samsung has announced plans to show off the “most powerful Galaxy” device on April 28. While we don’t know what the company is planning to unveil, newly leaked products might give us a hint. Buckle up, because there’s a lot to go over.

First up we have a free look at the Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 thanks to Evan Blass (via Android Authority), which we already saw leaked at the end of March. Both devices are expected to launch with Windows, with the laptops taking different approaches to design. The Book Pro appears to be a traditional laptop we’ve seen for years. The Pro 360, meanwhile, will apparently be a convertible that will feature S-Pen support.

Samsung’s new laptops will allegedly come in 13-inch and 15-inch options. Meanwhile, a previous report claimed the device will be powered by the Intel 11th Gen processors (i3/ i5/ i7), with the 13-inch models using the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card while the 15-inch SKUs opting for the Nvidia MX450 discrete GPU. They’re also expected to feature full HD AMOLED displays along with a Thunderbolt 4 port and an optional LTE modem for cellular connectivity.

As for the Galaxy Tab S7 Lite, Blass provided a fresh press render that gives us our best look yet at the tablet. The device is expected to feature a 12.4-inch display, Snapdragon 750G processor, 4GB RAM, and S-Pen support. There is supposedly a magnetic area on the back where users can store and charge the stylus. The image also seems to confirm a dual-camera setup and a design that features flat edges and rounded corners.

Laptops and tablets saw a rise in popularity due to the the COVID-19 pandemic, and Samsung seemingly wants to capitalize on heightened consumer interest by releasing new products in each category. The Galaxy Tab S7 Lite will likely be an affordable option aimed at artists and those who consume a lot of media. The new laptops, meanwhile, will cater to a variety of people who need to get work done.

There’s no confirmation these device’s will make an appearance at Samsung’s upcoming Unpacked event — a previous report said the Galaxy Tab S7 Lite would launch in June — so we’ll have to wait and see. The company’s event kicks off on April 28.

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 may not have an S Pen slot

With the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung made a bold step by adding support for the S Pen, which has been for several years a hallmark feature of the Galaxy Note lineup, to the point it was often was the sole reason for some buyers to go for a Note device instead of an S series. The S21 Ultra lacks an S Pen slot like the one in the Note 20 Ultra, but the S Pen is fully supported, and you can even purchase it separately together with a case that can hold it. And Samsung seems to be more invested in the S Pen than ever before, as it’s also rumored that their 2021 foldables, including the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3, are also coming with S Pen support.

However, if you were hoping to see an S Pen slot just like you would see one on the Samsung Galaxy Note lineup, then we have bad news for you: it may not have one after all, if a report from South Korean website NaverNews is to be believed. It would still have support for the S Pen, but it’ll be just like the S21 Ultra: an external accessory. Previous rumors, leaks, and even a patent hinted at the device having a Note-esque S Pen slot.

While it could’ve been in Samsung’s plans at some point, the reason why they’re leaving it off the table is pretty simple: there’s not enough space inside. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is also rumored to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor, so that phone is probably coming pretty tightly packed inside.

We would’ve loved it, though: S Pen support makes a lot of sense in big devices like the ones in the Fold lineup. Luckily, though, S Pen support is seemingly still happening, and we may get something similar to Samsung’s S Pen cases for the S21 Ultra so you can take the pen around with you.

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TWRP 3.5.2 released, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, XZ1, and XZ1 Compact receive official support

Team Win Recovery Project, or TWRP for short, has become the de-facto custom recovery solution for the Android modding community. It allows users to directly flash or ADB sideload ZIP archives that contain custom ROMs or other mods, make a full backup or restoration, and much more. Last month, we saw the release of TWRP 3.5.1, with new features such as flashable Magisk APK support and several under-the-hood improvements. However, it introduced a regression error for digest checking, which has recently been fixed. As a result, the project has been bumped to version 3.5.2.

Given the fact that TWRP 3.5.2 is more of a hotfix update, its changelog is rather small and pretty much self-explanatory. The list of officially supported devices, on the other hand, has seen some notable growth. Since we last covered the build roster changes, a few new devices have been added, thanks to XDA Recognized Contributor modpunk and XDA Senior Member derf elot. Those devices are the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XZ1, and the Xperia XZ1 Compact.

You might think: Why just now have these devices gained TWRP support if the phones came out all the way back in 2017? Well, there have been TWRP builds available for some of these devices for a while—they just weren’t official, or in some cases, were abandoned by the previous maintainer. Now that official TWRP support is here, it means that you’ll be able to download the latest source-built recovery image for these smartphones directly from the TWRP website.

If you’re interested, head over to the TWRP page for your respective device from the following table and download the latest version of the custom recovery image. In case you want to download the compatible TWRP build right from your device, you should check out the official TWRP app on Google Play Store (linked below). The app will also alert you when new versions of the custom recovery are available.

Device and XDA Forum link	Device codename and TWRP Portal Link
Sony Xperia XZ Premium	Single SIM: maple Dual SIM: maple_dsds
Sony Xperia XZ1	Single SIM: poplar Dual SIM: poplar_dsds Canada: poplar_canada KDDI: poplar_kddi
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact	lilac

Not all of today’s news is good news, though, as the Samsung Galaxy J4 (code-name “j4lte“) and the Exynos Wi-Fi variant of the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 (code-name “lt03wifiue“) have lost official support. The existing TWRP builds for these devices are still available for download, but don’t expect new automated builds for them to land anytime soon without an active maintainer.

Official TWRP App (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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This new SDK makes porting apps to Huawei devices easier

Huawei has been building its own app ecosystem for years, and the company’s efforts intensified after it was cut off from Google’s apps and services. An important component of Huawei’s ecosystem is AppGallery, Huawei’s app store, but bringing apps to phones that don’t have Google Mobile Services isn’t always easy. Thankfully, a new SDK aims to address that.

Choice SDK is primarily developed by Austria-based BlueSource, and it provides apps with a single interface for interacting with either Google Mobile Services/Firebase or Huawei Mobile Services, whichever is present on the user’s phone. Instead of maintaining two independent codebases for Huawei devices and Google-powered devices, or writing all the code for both platforms themselves, developers can have one codebase that works on both platforms. It’s not quite a plug-and-play solution, as developers still have to replace GMS-specific calls with the Choice SDK equivalents, but it is less work than the alternatives.

Choice SDK was originally created by BlueSource to port banking applications to Huawei devices, but according to the project, Choice SDK is now used by “multiple commercial, public and private operated apps.” It supports the analytics, location, mapping, messaging, and sign-in abilities of GMS and HMS, and the code is open-source.

It remains to be seen if Choice SDK will cause a rise in popular applications being ported to Huawei phones. Maintaining applications across multiple app stores is a difficult process on its own, and the trade restrictions still imposed by the United States means many potential developers can’t legally work with Huawei. Many of the current top apps on the Play Store, currently including applications like Facebook, Discord, and Facebook Messenger, are developed by American companies. However, for the developers able and willing to bring apps to Huawei phones, the new SDK could save some time.

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Google Earth’s new 3D time-lapse feature shows how much has changed over the years

Google Earth is adding a 3D time-lapse feature that shows how much our planet has changed since 1984. The search giant said it teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab to create the technology behind the new feature, which Google said is the biggest addition to the platform since 2017.

“With Timelapse in Google Earth, 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years have been compiled into an interactive 4D experience,” said Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth, Earth Engine & Outreach. “Now anyone can watch time unfold and witness nearly four decades of planetary change.”

To view a time-lapse in Google Earth, you can head to this link to see how much things have changed over the past few decades. Google said you can choose any place on the planet where you want to see time in motion. The search giant has also created a storytelling platform called voyager that features interactive guided tours of changing forests and urban expansion.

Google said it has also uploaded more than 800 videos in both 2D and 3D for public use at g.co/TimelapseVideos. You can download them in MP4 format, or you can watch all of them via a YouTube playlist.

“Our planet has seen rapid environmental change in the past half-century — more than any other point in human history. Many of us have experienced these changes in our own communities; I myself was among the thousands of Californians evacuated from their homes during the state’s wildfires last year,” Moore said. “For other people, the effects of climate change feel abstract and far away, like melting ice caps and receding glaciers. With Timelapse in Google Earth, we have a clearer picture of our changing planet right at our fingertips — one that shows not just problems but also solutions, as well as mesmerizingly beautiful natural phenomena that unfold over decades.”

Image: Google

To add animated time-lapse imagery to Google Earth, the company said it gathered more than 24 million satellite images from 1984 to 2020, using data from the U.S. government, European Union, and NASA. The company then combined 20 petabytes of satellite imagery into a single 4.4 terapixel-sized video mosaic. That equates to roughly 530,000 videos in 4K resolution, according to Google. (But don’t worry, Google said all of this computing was done inside its carbon-neutral, 100 percent renewable energy-matched data centers.)

Google Earth previously introduced a time-lapse feature to the platform in 2013, displaying 2D images of the planet from 1984 to 2012. Today’s updated time-lapse feature offers a more immersive experience and the most up-to-date data. As the videos show, a lot has changed over the last 37 years.

Google said that it plans to update Google Earth’s time-lapse feature on an annual basis throughout the next decade.

“We hope that this perspective of the planet will ground debates, encourage discovery and shift perspectives about some of our most pressing global issues,” Moore said.

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