Archive for OS X 10.5
VirtuaWin for Windows
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve really come to appreciate the “workspace” feature in OS X and Linux. However, I do most of my development in Windows which (oddly) has no similar feature. I’ve tried a few applications that give Windows this ability, my favorite is an open source project called VirtuaWin.
Their project is hosted on SourceForge, where you can find more information and links to download: http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/.
Things I like about it:
1) It’s minimalistic and not too flashy. Switching spaces is similar to OS X.
2) It’s very stable. It works on Vista, and has never crashed.
3) It has a handy “always show” flag you can apply to a specific window.
Things I don’t like about it:
1) Configuration/customization takes some time (default settings are OK, though).
MBP Low-tech Keyboard Fix
Posted by: | CommentsEver since I had the keyboard on my MacBook Pro replaced the back light has not worked. Occasionally I’ve looked into it (usually when I find myself in low light conditions and become annoyed that it’s not working) and haven’t found anything that worked for me.
Some of the suggestions I’ve found in the various forums have included:
- Pressing F8, F9, F10.
- Covering the light sensor behind the speakers to get the F8 key to work in lighted conditions.
- Installing Lab Tick to manually control the back lighting.
None of these suggestions worked in my case, and since there were usually a few other people who tried these solutions without success I just accepted it and went on with my work (and assumed the technicians had replaced my keyboard with the “cheap” version).
Yesterday while I was typing in low-light conditions, I occasionally noticed the back light flickering on. I experimented a little and realized it was happening when I happened to press a key with above-average force. So, using both hands I gently, but firmly pressed down on the entire keyboard and voila- my back light started working again. It’s only been a day, but I haven’t had a problem since.
Since my keyboard has functioned flawlessly aside from the back light, I assume the back light has a separate connector. So if you find that the “standard” solutions don’t work for you, making sure your keyboard is completely connected *might work.
* It’s also possible that your keyboard is broken.
My MacBook Pro
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been needing a Mac for some time, if for nothing more than to test my AIR applications (I’ve run into a few quirks with some of the AIR specific features of Flex between OS X and Windows). The original plan was to get a Mac Mini this Christmas, until my brother told me he was selling his MacBook Pro. A few factors, namely the weak options available on the Mini, and the fact that my HP (circa 2005) has seemed slower than mud since buying my new desktop computer this summer, led to my wife allowing me to buy it.
I have now been a Mac owner for about 8 hours. I’ve used them before on a limited basis when the BYU CS department still had a Mac lab, but I just wanted to take a few minutes now and post a few obervations and thoughts I’ve had getting up and running.
It seems there’s a tradeoff between having a quiet notebook or having a cool notebook. My HP has a fairly loud fan (it’s actually pretty embarassing taking that thing out in the library) but it never gets hot. The MacBook feels like it’s about to spontaneously burst into flame. I haven’t owned the Mac long enough to decide which vice I prefer, but the loud fan was one of my bigger annoyances on the HP.
I discovered that “tapping” on the touchpad is disabled by default in Mac, which is funny because it’s generally enabled by default on most PC notebooks. A quick google search got me back in business (System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Trackpad). And though I don’t like how dragging works: double-tap and drag, then wait a second for it to drop OR tap again; I do like the tap-with-two-fingers instead of the right click (on the PC you have to resort to the buttons to get a “right-click”).
One of my computers on the network has been recognized, but none of the others are there and I can’t figure out how to manually browse the network to set up some “mapped drives” or the Mac equivalent.
The final thing that’s screwing me up are the keyboard shortcuts. A lot of the common ones are similar between Mac and PC, just different enough to screw up whatever you’re trying to do. I’m not sure how I’ll work this one out– when I was fixing my touch pad I noticed where I could map my keyboard shortcuts. The problem is that I’ll be using a PC-type keyboard at home when I’ve got the MacBook plugged into my KVM, but I’ll be using the notebook’s keyboard when I’m at school and on the road. I guess I’ll see how this pans out in the next few weeks.
Overall I’m excited to see what happens. My plan now is to continue to use Windows and OS X, but I’m curious to see if one wins out over the other.
