Tag Archives: mac

Review: Three months with the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac

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Logitech first started producing solar wireless keyboards for PCs earlier this year but didn’t make a Mac version until a few months ago.  The PC version got incredibly solid reviews at Amazon so I thought this would be a good pick up for my Mac workstation when it was released.  As a veteran of Apple’s original Wireless Keyboard, I was sick of dealing with battery and connectivity issues plus I wanted the full layout with numeric keypad, extra function keys extra and full arrows.  I’ve been using it almost exclusively for the past three months.

First, I’ll say that the solar panels make the footprint about 25% bigger than a standard full Apple keyboard.  That can be a hassle if you are cramped for space at your desk.  On the other hand, the keyboard feels a bit more solid, perhaps because of the increased size and weight. Keystrokes are very similar feel to Apple’s standard keyboards and spacing and layout are all but identical.  Logitech adds a power switch and battery tester at the top right.

I got the piano black version because it matches my monitor and my Logitech Mouse (which also works with this USB dongle) but there are 5 colors to choose from.  I imagine the standard “silver” will be the most popular.

As far as the solar is concerned, I never had a single problem with charging or connection.  I have a florescent lit basement office and a workspace with natural light from a shaded back yard and both kept the keyboard charged at all times.  The keyboard usually sits in front of a large 30″ monitor, so that probably helps. But from reviews I’ve read, almost no one has a problem keeping this charged with normal office lighting so I don’t think this is a concern.

There are some tradeoffs for having solar, however…

  1. One nitpick is that there is no caps lock light (do we even need a caps lock anymore? – I’d prefer a search button like a Chromebook). Saves power I guess. Since there is no way to tell it is depressed, I just turned it off in Prefs/Keyboard/Modifier keys. Others use this to modify function keys.
  2. Also, it doesn’t use my Mac’s built in Bluetooth.  It requires a microscopic proprietary USB dongle with its own wireless band taking up a valuable USB port.  That’s both a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, it allows me to keep my Bluetooth off (or in the case of my Hackintosh, I didn’t have to buy a Bluetooth card) and doesn’t require the few seconds to connect that Bluetooth often does.  I’m hoping as more Macs have power efficient/quicker Bluetooth 4.0, Logitech moves over there (also it would be nice to use on iOS devices). But, the dongle works 100% of the time. As I mentioned above, I’d have some connectivity issues with Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard taking a few seconds to kick in, falling off or giving me repeated “r” keys.
  3. The “incline feet” on the back feel a bit flimsy.  While they didn’t give way in three months of heavy use, I feel like they could have at some point if the keyboard was dropped or something heavy was dropped on it.  I’d have preferred a built in incline on the keyboard as Apple does but this methods allows two different angles for those who care.
  4. Speaking of not caring, I don’t use a wrist rest and thankfully, this keyboard doesn’t have one.

That being said, I am overall extremely happy with the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac.  I no longer have to worry about batteries or Bluetooth connectivity hiccups and I have a full wireless keyboard with numeric keys and full sized arrows and extra functions.  The tradeoffs are few with the major one being a microscopic USB dongle that travels around in my MacBook Air at times.

In fact, with low power/fast connect Bluetooth 4.0 coming on most present and likely all future Macs, I’d be surprised if Apple didn’t have their own solar keyboard in the works.  For now, Logitech’s is your best bet.  Pick one up at Logitech or Amazon for $59. The PC version is $40 here.

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See Bigger Thumbnails Of Wallpapers [OS X Tips]

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Illustration of zooming into wallpaper images

You can use the pinch-and-expand gesture to zoom into wallpaper thumbnails in System Preferences

Here’s a quick but useful tip for those who love their desktop backgrounds and change them on a regular basis.

Choosing a new wallpaper in the Desktop & Screen Saver pane of System Preferences? If your Mac has a multitouch trackpad, place the mouse cursor over the thumbnail previews of the wallpapers and use the pinch-and-expand gesture, normally used to zoom in and out of photos in Preview or on the iPad, to make the thumbnails larger and smaller.

Give it a try–it’s pretty neat!

 

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My MacBook Crashed And Now I Can’t Reboot The Computer [Ask MacRx]

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Computer Angst

A crashed computer is one of life’s annoyances. A crashed computer that you can’t subsequently reboot becomes a bigger headache. Sometimes the battery in a laptop can be the culprit:

My Macbook froze out of nowhere. I have only had it for a few months. I purchased it new. I tried pushing the restart button and option/command/esc (what it says in the manual to do) but none of that works. My mac is totally unresponsive. What should I do?

Thanks in advance,
Andrea

Hi Andrea,

Your Mac may have crashed and still be running off the battery, as I’ve seen that happen before. You can try removing the battery; on a unibody MacBook that requires taking the bottom cover off (and lots of tiny screws). Remove the battery, wait a few seconds, replace it, then see if you can get things started. However this is not an option for the faint-hearted, or if you don’t feel comfortable working inside your system.

Otherwise since it’s just a few months old and you’re still under warranty, the easiest solution may be to bring the system to an Apple Store Genius Bar and have them suss out the issue.

Thank you for responding. I unplugged my Mac and had it all boxed up to go to the store today. When I woke up this morning, I plugged it back in and pushed the start button. It came on and all my screens reappeared. I had an error message that my time and calendar was set for a date sooner than Jan. 2008. This made absolutely no sense to me b/c I didn’t make any changes! I checked my settings to make sure the date and time were correct and they were!! My computer works just fine now. It was so weird and still makes no sense! I’m just happy it works again! Thank you so much though.

Actually that behavior supports the possibility that the computer had crashed and was running off the battery. It will do this off the main battery until that drains, then for a short while the smaller battery which retains settings like Date & Time will be used. Once it’s completely dead you can then plug it in and reboot; the date will be momentarily wrong then correct itself via the network.

Glad it’s working again. Take this as an advance warning to make sure you always keep a current backup of your data!

• • •

Readers, have any additional suggestions on this topic, or corrections/clarifications on the advice above? If so, please leave your thoughts in the comments.

Got a question about your Mac or iOS device? Email (sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address) and we’ll try to help out.

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iTunes Match Won’t Be Very Profitable For Apple But That’s Okay [Analyst]

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When it comes to Apple’s iTunes Match, profit motive goes out the window — indeed it’s “immaterial.” Although Apple is most known for iTunes and the App Store, the Cupertino, Calif. company remains a hardware company — and very profitable at that. The real value of the iTunes Match service is as the latest member of Apple’s vast iTunes ecosystem, acting as a honeytrap for hardware purchases.

Much of the $25 annual fee for iTunes Match is likely eaten up by music royalties and storage fees, believes Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Munster expects the service will earn $33.8 million annually if one percent of U.S. users sign up for iTunes Match. The figure could reach $169 million per year, if 5 percent of U.S. fans pay the $25 annual fee.

This isn’t the first time Apple dismissed profit for larger sales. Despite the iTunes Store and App Store costing the Cupertino, Calif. company an estimated $1.3 billion a year, Apple continues the services which is admits are break-even, at best. It’s obvious why there’s such little concern: the music downloaded from iTunes and the apps downloaded from the App Store have to be stored somewhere, and Apple would prefer it be an iPod, an iPad or a Mac.

But iTunes Match could kill the goose that lays Apple’s golden eggs, Munster fears. The iTunes Match service , which works by providing access to music not bought at the iTunes store, may reduce the need for consumers to purchase very profitable high-storage devices. Just 19 percent of early iPhone users bought the 64GB iPhone 4S versus 32 percent who chose the 32GB version.

There is some solace in the fact that the survey was of early adopters. The analyst said cloud-based storage appears not to be hampering hardware purchases.

“We still see benefits of higher capacity devices given the speed and convenience of local content, and limited access to the internet for some users (air travelers, for instance),” Munster writes.

In other words, Apple should push the iCloud, but not too hard.

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Use A Secret Gesture To Switch To The Previous Space [OS X Tips]

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Activating secret gesture

A secret gesture lets you double-tap with four fingers to switch back to the previously used space

There’s a secret gesture you can use with Mac multitouch trackpads that lets you double-tap with four fingers to switch back to the most recently used desktop space in OS X Lion (although not previous versions of OS X).

For example, should you switch to the Dashboard space from the main desktop, double-tapping in this way will switch back to the desktop. Note that this gesture involves merely tapping on the trackpad, and not clicking. This remains true even if you have Tap to Click turned off in System Preferences.

To activate the gesture, you’ll need to use a hidden setting. Open a Terminal window (Finder->Applications->Utilities->Terminal) and type the following:

defaults write com.apple.dock double-tap-jump-back -bool TRUE;killall Dock

 

 

The changes should take effect right away, so give it a try. Like all gestures, it takes a little practice. Note that it appears that after a minute or two, OS X “forgets” the previous desktop space, so double-tapping to switch a space will no longer work until you again switch to a different space.

To turn off this new gesture, open a Terminal window and type the following:

defaults delete com.apple.dock double-tap-jump-back;killall Dock
 
 
 
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Apple Finally Introduces TV Show Streaming To Apple TV In Australia, Canada & U.K.




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Apple has begun issuing an update to its second-generation Apple TV that finally allows users in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. to stream TV shows they’ve purchased on iTunes directly to their television.
 
The feature has been available to users in the U.S. for some time, and it greatly enhances the user experience for those who catch up with their favorite shows using their Apple TV. Rather than having to download each episode using iTunes on their computer, then stream them to their Apple TV, users can now login to their iTunes account and stream their purchases right from the cloud.
 
As things stand, it seems the service has been introduces to those in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. However, Apple is yet to announce the update, so there could be support for more territories that we’re not aware of yet.
 
Did you get TV show streaming for Apple TV in your country today?
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OnLive Announces New iOS App That Offers Console-Quality Gaming On The Go




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We’re huge fans of OnLive’s terrific cloud gaming service here at Cult of Mac, and we’re even more excited to hear that it’s coming to iOS devices. The company has announced that an OnLive app is on its way to the App Store, which will allow users to play top-tier console-quality games on the go.
 
In its press release, OnLive promises the app will deliver “the latest, top-tier, high-performance games,” to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad:
 
OnLive, Inc., the pioneer of cloud gaming, announced that it is bringing console-class gaming to tablets and phones with the revolutionary OnLive app for tablet and mobile platforms. The latest, top-tier, high-performance games—previously limited to only consoles and computers—will be available for instant play via the free OnLive app on over 500 million mobile devices over Wi-Fi or mobile networks in the US and UK.
 
You may have already experienced OnLive on your Mac or PC, and if you have, you’ll know just how groundbreaking this service will be on mobile devices. Regardless of your device’s specifications, OnLive allows you to stream games from the cloud that are traditionally only available on the latest consoles or high-performance PCs.
 
All you need is a broadband connection that’s capable of both streaming video from the OnLive server, and sending your controls back.
 
OnLive says that 25 console-class games have been adapted for touch-based input on smartphones and tablets, including titles like L.A. Noire and LEGO Batman: The Videogame; but for an even greater experience, you can pickup an OnLive wireless controller for $49.99.
 
With the controller, you can play any of the games available through OnLive on any supported mobile device. To see just how impressive OnLive will be on your iPad, check out the video below from PocketGamer:
 

 
  
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTvOtKxadJQ
 
Unbelievable, right?
 
The OnLive app will be free to download from the App Store — and it should arrive imminently — but you will need to pay to play OnLive games. However, anyone who downloads the OnLive app will get LEGO Batman: The Videogame for free.
 
[via MacRumors]
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MacMall opening up more retail stores in Huntington Beach on Saturday and Chicago in February




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Conventional wisdom once was that as Apple expanded its retail footprint, Apple resellers would fall by the wayside.  And that has happened to a certain extent, plus stores like CompUSA and Circuit City have folded.


Fortunately, other retailers have been able to succeed alongside Apple by offering differentiated services.


One of our favorite Apple resellers, MacMall, is expanding their retail stores to Huntington Beach, California this Saturday and Chicago, Illinois in the coming months. Currently, the retailer has a booming online store coupled with two retail stores in Santa Monica and Torrance that are also seeing success, the company said in a press release sent out today. The Huntington Beach store opens this Saturday, December 10th with some pretty killer deals (seen after the break). MacMall’s Chicago store, located 321 West Grand Avenue, will be seeing a later January/February opening.


We hear that MacMall is even shopping for some space in Manhattan, alongside one of our other favorite resellers, Tekserve.


MacMall, naturally can offer more to customers than Apple Stores with their unscheduled technical support, broader range of accessories (even a few PCs and Android tablets), and most importantly “online prices in a retail store”. We often tip you guys on MacMall’s awesome deals, so we’re certainly familiar with some of the deals they carry.  As you can see below, they offer so many more accessories than an Apple Store (iPhone Alarm Clocks, standalone GPS, Photoframes, Cameras, etc, etc).


MacMall says Apple has encouraged them to keep expanding to more stores and with over $100 million in Apple product sales this year, that isn’t hard to believe.


At the Huntington Beach store’s grand-opening on Saturday, the first 300 people to visit the store will be entered to win free Apple TVs, MacBook Airs, iPod touchs, and iPod Nanos. Early shoppers will have a 1 in 22 chance of taking home some free holiday gifts.


Press release and circular follow:












MacMall Announces Grand Opening of New Retail Store In Huntington Beach


Grand Opening features $3,500 giveaway including MacBook Air, iPod Touch and more


El Segundo, Calif., Dec. 6, 2011 —MacMall, a leading authorized reseller of Apple products and a brand of a PC Mall, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ: MALL), today announced that the grand opening event for its new retail store located at 16929 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, Calif. will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. The event will feature a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting with local Chamber of Commerce officials, including outgoing Huntington Beach mayor Joe Carchio, incoming Huntington Beach mayor Don Hansen, and council member Connie Boardman. The first 300 people to visit the store will be entered into a drawing to win one of several hot technology products valued at over $3,500 in total, including a MacBook Air, three iPod touch players, five iPod nanos, and five Apple TVs. The store will open at 9 a.m. and the MacBook Air drawing will be held at 10 a.m., immediately after the ribbon cutting. Throughout the day there will be additional drawings for iPad and Mac accessories, product demos, and special discounts. The first 100 people who purchase will also receive a free gift bag.


The new store will be MacMall’s third in the Southern California market, and follows the successful launch of a new flagship store in Torrance in February 2010. The company also has a store in Santa Monica and plans to open a store in Chicago in early 2012. Each MacMall store offers a deep selection of Mac- and PC-based products, high end consumer electronics including the Apple iPad and iPod, in-house technical experts that provide Apple Authorized Service, free seminars, and on-site repair service.


“We are delighted to officially welcome customers to our new Huntington Beach location, in time for them to take advantage of our expertise and great deals this holiday season” said Dan DeVries, president of MacMall. “We are pleased to expand our presence in Southern California. Our new location will help us to better meet consumers’ demands for leading edge technology and consumer electronics products and on-site repair services.”


MacMall has operated an online Apple Superstore since 1995 at www.macmall.com.


About Mac Mall:


MacMall, a brand of a PC Mall, Inc. subsidiary, is a leading direct marketing reseller of Apple computers. MacMall works closely with Apple and hundreds of other manufacturers to bring customers low prices on a large selection of Apple computers, Mac software, Mac accessories, iPods, iPod accessories, iPhone accessories, consumer electronics and more. MacMall offers 24/7 pre and post sales telephone support and can take orders up until 10 pm Eastern time for delivery the next day. In addition, MacMall offers custom configurations, including the installation of Microsoft Windows on Apple computers, free iPod


engraving and cash back rebates on Apple computers. MacMall offers products and services through www.macmall.com, through 1-800-MACMALL and via retail stores located in Torrance, Santa Monica, and Huntington Beach, California.


About PC Mall, Inc.:


PC Mall, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a leading value added direct marketer of technology products, services and solutions to small and medium sized businesses, mid-market and enterprise customers, government and educational institutions and individual consumers. PC Mall brands include: PC Mall, PC Mall Gov, Sarcom, MacMall, Abreon, NSPI, eCost and OnSale. In the twelve months ended September 30, 2011, we generated approximately $1.5 billion in revenue and now have over 3,000 employees, over 64% of which are in sales or service positions. For more information please visit pcmall.com/investor or call (310) 354-5600.


Forward-looking Statements


This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future; including, but not limited to expectations or statements relating to expanded business models and opportunities and benefits of our investments in these business models and markets, or expectations or goals for sales growth of operating leverage, including without limitations related to our retail stores. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in any such statement. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A, Part II of our Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2011, on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in our other reports filed from time to time with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this document are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.


Contact: Tila Pacheco Tila PR 714.256.8452 (office) 714.742.2698 (cell) tila@tilapr.com


        




















Turn Off Your Desktop [OS X Tips]




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Example of dialog box created by AppleScript
 
If you’re using your Mac to give a presentation, you might not want everybody to see your messy desktop! If so, you can run a quick command that will hide your desktop icons.
 
 
 
To temporarily turn off the desktop, open a Terminal window (Finder->Applications->Utilities->Terminal) and type the following line:
 
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool FALSE;killall Finder
 
Note that this will mean you can no longer right-click on the desktop or drag files there. The files there will still be accessible by using Finder to browse to your Desktop folder.
 
Typing the command 
A simple command will hide all desktop detritus--essentially, turning it off
 
To restore things back to normal after your presentation, again open a Terminal window, but this time type the following:
 
defaults delete com.apple.finder CreateDesktop;killall Finder
 
Hey, presto! Everything should be back to normal. If not, log out and back in again.
 
 
With the use of a quick AppleScript, this Terminal command can even be turned into an standalone application that you can run before each presentation, saving the hassle of the command line.
 
Open AppleScript editor (Finder->Applications->Utilities->AppleScript Editor), and cut and paste the following code:
 
display dialog "Desktop icons visible or hidden?" buttons {"Visible", "Hidden"} with icon 2 with title "Switch to presentation mode" default button 1 set switch to button returned of result if switch is "Hidden" then tell application "Terminal" do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool FALSE;killall Finder" end tell else tell application "Terminal" do shell script "defaults delete com.apple.finder CreateDesktop;killall Finder" end tell end if
 
 
Click the Run button on the toolbar to test your script. You should see a dialog box appear with two buttons: Visible and Hidden. To make sure the app works OK, click Hidden to hide the icons, then run the app again and click Visible to reveal them again.
 
Example of dialog box created by AppleScript
A little AppleScript gives you an app that will hide the desktop whenever you want
 
To save the AppleScript as an application, click File->Save As. Type a filename and, in the File Format dropdown list, select Application. Save the file, although not on your desktop–when the icons get hidden, you won’t be able to access it again to unhide them unless you use Finder.
 
 
 
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Deal alert: MacUpdate’s December bundle impresses




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‘Tis the season to save cash on software purchases through app bundles, and MacUpdate has definitely delivered with its Dec. 2011 offer. The most recent MacUpdate bundle boasts 11 titles for $49.99, including one of the best diagnostic tools money can buy for your Mac, a terrific email client for power users and an all-time classic RPG for Mac users with Skyrim envy.


Micromat’s TechToolPro 6 is the bundle headliner this time around, offering some of the most comprehensive diagnostic and repair tools for your OS X system available anywhere. TechToolPro 6 is the most recent version and normally retails for $99.99 on its own. It checks your drives for potential errors or signs of failure, helps you rebuild your disk directories and optimize performance, plus recovers data from corrupt drives.


Another highlight is Postbox 3, the latest iteration of one of the best options out there for power email users who aren’t satisfied with what the build-in Mail.app offers. It’s a better fit and better designed than Microsoft’s Outlook for the Mac, and it’s a great Gmail client, too. The only downside is that there is no Exchange support, but it has a load of organization and filtering features that make tackling even the most unruly of inboxes a much easier task. Postbox 3 is normally $30 on its own.


One more app on the list that merits closer inspection is Neverwinter Nights 2. It’s a few years old now, but the game really stands up well despite its age. RPG fans will love it, especially if you enjoyed the first installment or if you’re a fan of games in the Diablo vein. Ordinarily, Neverwinter Nights 2 retails for $20 on the Mac App Store.


There are eight other apps in the bundle, too, as well as one more for the first 15,000 buyers. There is something for everyone, including the FontPack Pro Master edition, which ordinarily retails for $300 and includes every typeface designed by the SummitType font foundry (handy for designers), and Hear, an app that adds audio equalizer options to every app on your Mac (nice for the audiophiles in the crowd).


The deal lasts until Dec. 21, so you still have another 16 days to decide if it’s tantalizing enough to merit your hard-earned cash.


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