How Katie Couric and Mark Knoller write weak and strong tweets.
Category
Reviews
Magic Trackpad in the House
I just bought Apple's Magic Trackpad and will be using it starting now. Stay tuned for my review.
Should I update my GPS maps? No way!
I currently drive a three year-old Mercury Mariner Hybrid with a factory-installed GPS navigation system. Just like its smaller and more portable GPS cousins, this built-in unit is a great tool to drive to my intended destinations and locate points of interest along the way, like restaurants and hotels. Since it's built-in, it's always powered up and ready for me to use. Plus, I don't worry about it getting stolen like I did with my older suction-cup variety. Although many of the portable Garmin and TomTom units have more advanced features, I'm satisfied with my built-in GPS. The large screen is particularly welcome. I recently received a letter from Mercury to "Get the most out of your Mercury Navigation System - UPDATE YOUR MAP TODAY!" This direct mail piece offers a DVD update from NAVTEQ, the GPS unit's mapping software company, to "optimize performance", "see new places", "save fuel", etc. These are all positive and anyone who is using this navigation system would want the...
Faxing without a fax machine
I just changed my fax number. Why? Well... I bought my first fax machine in 1989 when I started my consulting business. It cost me over a thousand dollars! And to be viewed as a “real” business, I needed a separate fax phone number, including long distance service. My phone bill was over $30 a month -- every month. This continued for nearly 20 years. I did upgrade my fax machine a couple of times, switching from the old fashioned thermal paper rolls to plain paper. The last fax machine I bought cost less than $100 dollars. But I was still paying $30+ per month for the individual phone line -- which really bothered me every time the Verizon bill arrived in the mail. Three things happened over time that caused me to rethink my faxing setup. I was sending/receiving fewer and fewer faxes. Most of the faxes I received were junk -- companies trying to sell me something. (Who responds to these offers anyway?? -- that’s a topic for another post) My fax machine was taking up valuable space...
Magic Mouse Experience – Take 2
Over the last 20 years, I’ve used over twenty different computer mice (most of them purchased) in hopes of finding the perfect combination of comfort and functionality. Working all day in front of a computer can put repetitive stresses on your hands, arms, shoulders and neck. A small amount of discomfort is magnified over the course of a long work week, so it makes sense to find the best possible pointing solution. I’m the first one to admit that there’s no one-size-fits-all mouse. Product reviews are helpful, but there’s no substitute for actually using the product yourself. When Apple’s new Magic Mouse was announced last month, I was interested. Was this the perfect mouse for me? It looked good online, but there’s only one way to really find out – and luckily there’s an Apple Store just a short drive away. I headed over the a hands-on tryout. It was unlike any mouse that I’d used before. Beautifully designed. Low, sleek, smooth to the touch and across a desk surface. Either no...
Magic Mouse Not Magical at First
I bought my Magic Mouse yesterday at the local Apple Store. I did everything according to the instructions: Download and install the WirelessMouseSoftware update for Snow Leopard. Check. Pair the Bluetooth mouse with my Mac Pro. Check. Go to the Mouse System Preference to see the new options. Check... wait a minute... What?! No gesture options showed up! After some quick online problem research, I saw that USB Overdrive -- a utility I've used in the past -- could be the source of a conflict. I ran the downloaded and ran USB Uninstaller. It reported that USB Overdrive was not currently installed, therefore, there was nothing to un-install. Re-downloaded the software, restarted, retried. Still, no gesture options. After much frustration and much trial and error, I came upon the solution. Although the USB Overdrive uninstaller didn't detect it, there was indeed a file called USBOverdrive.kext in System/Library/Extensions. I tossed it out -- restarted -- and bingo! Magic Mouse gestures...