Mac | Gear Diary

Cleaning the Fan: How My MacBook Pro Avoided the Trash, Part 2

In part 1 of this 3 part series, I discovered that my computer was not acting happy due to a fan issue. Catch up with the post here to follow my MacBook adventure. One goal of this project is to avoid the Apple Store and keep the cost down as low as possible. The fan noise is definitely out of control, the machine is running hot and it has become super slow. My next plan of action is to open up the case to clean and lubricate the fan. I took a few photos to explain how to open the…

How to Do It Yourself!

The Diagnosis: How My MacBook Pro Avoided the Trash, Part 1

I pretty much live on my Mid 2009 13″ MacBook Pro. The computer literally goes everywhere I go, and it contains most everything I need for work and home life. The past few months, my amazing little machine has developed some annoying problems. First, the fan started making a loud noise. At first I thought that it was running too fast, but after adding iStat Pro to my Dashboard, I quickly found the fan to be running at normal speeds with extra noise. Soon after the loud fan issue came the heat. My CPU was regularly running a temperature up…

Gear Bits

iCloud Quick-Tip- Get Your Contacts Into iCloud

iOS 5.0 and iCloud go live later today. With them come a host of opportunities to have all of your Macs and iDevices works together flawlessly. (Or at least we hope flawlessly since the initial MobileMe rollout was a disaster.) One issue that came up for me was the desire to get away from using Gmail as my address book and move all my contacts to iCloud. The reason for this is rather simple — I want one set of address book data and I cannot stand the anemic way Google handles things in this regard. There are numerous way…

Editorials

OS X Lion Quick Tip: Reorder Windows in Mission Control

UPDATE (With apologies): Turns out this is only in the current Lion Beta, something I never would have imagined. Thanks to Rodney for pointing it out. We’ll let you know when it makes its way into a full release since it is quite useful! The more I use OS X Lion the more I like the features it brought to the Mac and, although it can be a bit inconsistent, I am really learning to appreciate fullscreen apps. I’m liking Mission Control more and more too. The only issue I have had has been the fact that when I…

Editorials

Change is in the Air, and it is Not Just the Coming of Fall

Let’s face it, the iPad is eating everyone else’s lunch and that not only goes for other tablets but for traditional computers as well. MG Siegler has a rather interesting and excellent post over on TechCrunch the other day that makes this point rather well. In it he argues that the iPad represents a Clear and Present Danger to the traditional PC market. The reason? Unlike those of us who write for a living (whether as bloggers or… say… clergy) and need something that we can use to write hundreds or thousands of words, the vast majority of people can…

Editorials

Not Everyone is Ready to “Think Different” or Even to “Think Smart”

There’s an old story about three blind men. One grabbed an elephant’s trunk and thought it was a snake. One grabbed a leg and thought it was a tree trunk. Another grabbed… Oh you get the idea. The bottom line is, when you look at only one piece of anything you are not going to see clearly… Or correctly. Yet time and again decisions get made upon this small-picture limited-think. Here’s yet another example. A post over on Cult of Mac today offers the following. Here’s an idea: let’s cut Apple in half. Sure, the company is the most profitable on the…

News

Big News From Evernote: Purchases Skitch, New Apps and More…

Evernote is in the midst of their “first-ever Evernote Trunk Conference” and had some big news to share. Skitch As the above “Skitched” image indicates Evernote bought the image app/service Skitch and is making the app completely free. As they explain We love Skitch so much that we decided to buy the company. Skitch is an amazing Mac application that’s changed the way people capture, annotate and share images. Chief Skitchers, Cris Pearson and Keith Lang are moving from Australia and joining Evernote to lead a significantly expanded Skitch team focused on supercharging the product. Evernote goes on to explain:…

Editorials

Apple Moving into HDTV Market? Here’s a Great First Step

Last night I was a bit under the weather. I went in search of something to watch and came upon the new Starz/BBC series Strike Back on my iPad’s browser. A few taps of the screen and it was playing on my large Samsung HDTV. It was just another reminder of the way in which Apple’s technology can create a seamless ecosystem for work and entertainment. Then today Cult of Mac published a post entitled Could Apple Enter Sub-$1K Premium TV Market With A Real iTV? In it they write News that high-end TVs are nearing the sub $1,000 range…

News

Bongiovi Acoustics DPS (Digital Power Station) for iOS Rocks Your World

Want richer bass, higher clarity and an all around enhanced audio experience? Bongiovi Acoustics: Bongiovi DPS (Digital Power Station) technology has it. The technology is currently available in iHome dock stations and select Toyota models and, for the first time, Bongiovi’s technology is available as an iOS app. The technology “re-masters your compressed digital audio files at the source and then, using device specific profiles, optimizes the output for your listening device (headphone, speaker, earbud, etc).” I tried the iOS app and was rather impressed with the enhanced audio pumped out by my iPod touch and my iPad. As the company…

Editorials, News

MacBook Air 11″ (rev Summer 2011) First Impressions

For the last few months I have been using a 13″ MacBook Air as my primary computer. It works beautifully. It is thin, light, and more than speedy enough for my needs. In addition, since the screen resolution is the same as the 15″ MacBook Pro I used briefly a few years ago I don’t feel like I’m compromising because of the size. All of that noted, however, there was part of me that, for these last months, had my eyes straying to (lusting for?) a different laptop. Yes, back in January Elana got an 11″ MacBook Air and I…

News

Sonos Issues Mac OS X ‘Lion’ Compatibility Warning – Don’t Upgrade Yet!!

Yesterday Michael brought word that Livescribe’s Mac desktop software is not currently compatible with Mac OS X Lion. In other words, if you rely on Livescribe don’t upgrade to OS X Lion. This isn’t a surprise or even an issue since there are always small bumps along the way whenever new operating systems come out. Issues emerge and, within a short period of time, are resolved. This time is no different. I just got word that the same holds true for Sonos’ Mac Controller. It too is not currently compatible with Mac OS X Lion. I’ve been using Lion for…

News

Livescribe Issues Mac OS X ‘Lion’ Compatibility Warning – Don’t Upgrade Yet!

If you depend on Livescribe Desktop on your Mac from day to day, they have some advice: don’t upgrade to Lion … yet! Here is what they are saying: Livescribe Software Notice Regarding Mac OS X Lion The current version of Livescribe Desktop 2.7.2 is not completely compatible with Apple’s new Mac OS upgrade (Lion) that will be available to the public this month. We are working hard to complete an update to the Livescribe Desktop that will address this issue and plan to have it available for customers within the next few weeks. Until this software update is available,…

News

Apple Updates iMac All-In-One With FaceTime HD, Thunderbolt and more

As expected Apple introduced new iMacs this morning. While they look the same they have some nice upgrades under the hood. Among the changes are quad-core processors across the line, graphics that are up to 3x faster, Thunderbolt for super-fast data transfer, and a FaceTime HD camera. The 21.5″ model starts at $1,199.00 with the 27″ starting at $500 more. The upper end of the “ready to ship” models line has a 3.1 GHz Quad-Core and costs $1999.99. If I wasn’t so pleased using my 13″ MacBook Air I would be pretty tempted right now. Must… Resist…

News

Cool MacBook Accessories: Silva Bamboo MacBook Case

This Silva Bamboo MacBook Case looks pretty darn awesome. It is super slim and, as a result, doesn’t seem to add too much size to your MacBook. In fact it pretty much looks like what a bamboo MacBook would look like. The case is handmade of raw bamboo that is milled-out To make room for the laptop. The result is a case that is apparently a perfectly fit for the Mac. Oh, and if you are worried about the wood scratching the computer don’t! The inside is lined with soft wool felt. The case is finished off with a leather…

Gear Bits

What a Difference Some RAM Makes!

photo credit: Joachim S. Müller Last week I trashed my MacBook Air. It was a sad day and within hours the computer was with Apple and on its way to be repaired. I went two days using only my iPad and it worked fine but, as expected, I discovered there were a few things that really required the use of Mac OS X. (One biggee is posting to Gear Diary since, after a few years of apps, there still isn’t a decent app for posting text, links AND pictures to WordPress.) I broke down and did something I had been…

News

Twelve South Introduces the MagicWand for Magic Trackpad and Wireless Keyboard

Twelve South makes some great Mac products. They make the Compass iPad stand and the BookBook iPad case, along with a host of other Mac accessories. Well today they are rolling out a new product that seamlessly connects Apple’s Magic Trackpad to the Apple Wireless Keyboard to create one, easy to use, accessory. Judie recently reviewed a somewhat similar item, the BulletTrain Express (she loves it!), but while that created an arrangement similar to what you will find on an Apple notebook, the MagicWand creates on long keyboard/trackpad combination. As the company explains, What is MagicWand? It’s a cool little…

Gear Bits, Reviews

The BulletTrain Express Keyboard Platform; Thankfully Someone Was Listening

I have been using a Mac laptop of some kind for a relatively short amount of time — only since March 2008, but since then there has always been a MacBook nearby, whether it was the 15″ MacBook Pro, a first generation MacBook Air, a second generation MacBook Air, a 17″ MacBook Pro, or more recently an 11″ MacBook Air. I’ve been pretty vocal stating my opinion that Mac makes some of the best hardware available, even if I am pretty agnostic about whether their operating system is better than Windows or not. Beyond the all metal bodies and slimmer…

Editorials

Larry and Dan Serve Up Gear Chat #15

In Gear Chat #15 Larry and Dan talk about their experience with the Magic Trackpad (one kept it, one sent it back), chat about the current Apple hardware rumors and more… Elements app for Dropbox ($4.99) Get it HERE. Fastever ($1.99) Get it HERE. TextExpander Touch ($4.99) Get it HERE. Train Conductor 2 ($.99) Get it HERE. Intro Music- Lean On Me- Sounds From the Ground Solarstone’s Chill Out Remix… (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/chillout-a-nettwerk-escape/id258464413)

Editorials

Microsoft’s “PC vs. Mac” Site: What on Earth Are They Thinking?

Mac vs. PC ad still courtesy Chiat/Day One of the things that’s wonderful about writing for Gear Diary is the diverse mix of folks involved in the endeavor. You got your PC folks… you got your Appleheads… and you got your LINUX fans (well fan… Joel) and so on. We’ve got gaming folks; hard-core gadget nerds; exercise mavens; and gear heads (“petrol heads” to you “Top Gear” fans). You have folks who are into fashion and making sure their high-end handbag matches their Oberon iPad case, and people who get help from their partner when matching shirts with pants for…

Editorials

Mac Mini Updated and Priced to Sell iMacs, that is

Image courtesy of GeekyGadgets By now you have likely heard that Apple did a refresh on the Mac Mini, greatly overhauling the internal and external hardware and enhancing the overall specifications … and the price. The basics are as expected – more or less a copy of the 13″ Macbook Pro with more desktop-like set of connectors. The big new features include the addition of a HDMI port, upgrade of the graphics chip, and the sleek new look. Here are some details: Most notable is the new aluminum unibody enclosure, which stands just 1.4″ tall and features an easy-to-access memory…

Reviews

SpiderOak Cloud Backup Review

Backing your data up to the cloud and living out of the cloud is all the rage. SpiderOak cloud backup has a lot of features that I have been looking for in an online backup solution. First, to get started with SpiderOak, you need to download the software for Windows, Mac or Linux and install it. The version delivered for Ubuntu works on pretty much any version of Ubuntu. You can install it with standard dpkg commands or double-click on it and us the graphical package manager, GDebi package installer. Click on install, enter your system password and it installs….