Charles DeVore's Weblog

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:25:29 GMT

For those of you using a MacBook Pro and a second monitor attached keep this in mind. There is a known bug that when you close the lid of the MacBook Pro it forgets about the monitor on your computer. Now this only effects people using an external keyboard and mouse with the lid closed while using the external monitor. When you open the lid back up it will not light up again until you go to the monitors control panel on the external monitor and tell it to look for other monitors (detect displays). At that point the internal monitor will light up and you will be able to use it again. This happens under 10.5.2 according to Apple, but I have seen it under 10.5.1 also

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:20:13 GMT

Apples new MacBook Air seems to be doing well with sales however shipments to resellers of accessorary items like the USB SuperDrive and the Ethernet adapters is slow. Here hoping we can get one of the PMUG members who have one to write a review of being an early adapter.

Also the developer tool kit for writing iPhone applications is due out by the end of March so we should be seeing a lot of new things coming for that device in the June time frame when Firmware 2.0 is issued.

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:34:10 GMT

Not sure what kind of beta testing Apple did with the iLife components but it does not sound like very much was done to preserve old data and insure ease of upgrade. I'm going to make this really clear back up your hard drive before updating and installing new products. That's right even Apple products. If you value your data at $150.00 then buy a FireWire hard drive and back it up. Cloning from your computer to a Mac formatted hard drive will take several hours but is worth every minute of the time. Use Carbon Copy Cloner, or SuperDuper Clone it all not just the data, clone everything. Then if your upgrade goes south clone it back. I use the paid version of SuperDuper for my clones the basic version is free http://www.shirt-pocket.com/ paid version $27.95 has more advanced features. CCC is http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html and is donation-ware. There are several other back-up products but these are two I use all the time.

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:32:17 GMT

Apple quietly upgraded the Airport Extreme to Gigabit Ethernet ports so you get a little more for the money there. Most people will not notice the difference but you need to check and see which one your buying if it affects you. Their older model should be cheaper due to the fact it's no longer the current shipping model.

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:42:40 GMT

Got a big monitor or a old TV and need to get rid of it? Tigard High School September 8th between 10am and 1pm is the place to go. Some items will have a fee $15 for laptops computer monitors and tv's under 36 inches, larger TV's for $25 and if it's a console version it will cost you another $5 in addition to the other charge. Cash or checks no charge cards. This is a great way to get that old stuff out of the garage and not into a landfill. For more information www.ci.tigard.or.us/community/calendar

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:09:46 GMT

Apple announced today the price of the 8 Gig iPhone dropped to $399.00 thats a $200.00 Price drop and brings the iPhone more in line with other smart phones. Also announced a new touch screen iPod that looks like the iPhone without the phone. Apple also announced that the new iPod would have WiFi built in and that Starbucks will start offering free WiFi connections with the iPod. The Starbucks rollout of this will happen over time with Seatle being the startup area.

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:23:42 GMT

After updating to the last firmware version for my Airport Extreme (7.2.1) our MyBook USB hard drive which had worked perfectly until that point disconnected and will no long mount giving a error of wrong password. After spending two days resetting the Airport I replaced the MyBook it with a spare external hard drive I had setting around. I reset the Airport and that replacement hard drive showed up and has been working ever since. Even though I have heard reports of this happening it was kind of a suprised to have it fail after the firmware update. So all you MyBook owners be advised.

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:37:00 GMT

Janet and I just got back from buying iLife 08 family pack at the Beaverton Mac Store (PMUG members get a 5% discount there). So we are spending tonight backing up the computers in preparation for installing. As I have pointed out time after time back up before you mess with what's already working. You should always repair permissions and check your drive with Disk First aid or DiskWarrior if you own it. Then clone your hard drive to another hard drive using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. After that, update your System and make sure you have enough Hard drive space before starting the update or install of iLife.

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:56:46 GMT

New iMacs may have screens that are less desirable than the ones they are replacing. Less viewing angle and a more washed out displays are being reported on the net. How ever the new 24 inch is a far better screen than the 20 inch. Be sure and check it out before you buy as different units may have different screens made by different suppliers. More later