Archive for the ‘News and (mostly) Opinions’
EFI-X Dongle Transforms Desktop PC into MacBook Pro
Earlier this week, Gizmodo reviewed the EFI-X dongle that allows one to add Leopard 10.5 functionality to a PC (with the proper hardware, of course).
The unit is $155 US and I’m very interested to see how well it runs. Unfortunately, I don’t have a GigaByte motherboard in my rig, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy one anyway.
I’ll keep you posted on if this little device becomes a reality for me.
Apple Mouse Utility
As readers of my rantings know, I recently utilized BootCamp to load Windows Vista Business on the MacBook. Everything is running great so far, but not having that second mouse button available for use really throws a cramp in my Win-Fu.
I was surprised that BootCamp (on the Windows side) didn’t have a utility or setting to compensate for the absent mouse button, so I fired up Google and found a great little utility called Apple Mouse Utility.
The file size is small and it’s beauty is in it’s simplicity. When activated, it allows me to hold down the Control button and use the one-button mouse as if I was using the second mouse, as it does in Leopard.
The software is free and its author is asking for donations. It’s a cool little utility that I believe deserves a couple bills.
Gizmodo: Why I Still Use Windows Despite the Peer Pressure
Adam Frucci at Gizmodo has a great blog post about why he’s still a WindowsXP user. My favorite blurb from his post is..
Macs are too hip. Oh, look at me! I do graphic design! I wear women’s jeans and hang out in coffee shops! I’m a DJ! Well good for you. My computer is not a fashion statement. It’s a computer.”
Well said!
MacBook from Scratch – Part 2
Yesterday I began the process of “starting over from scratch” with the MacBook and the two restore discs that came with it. I won’t bore you with the details, since the install was pretty much a “follow the bouncing ball” process that would be hard to mess up (and recording the procedure in this blog post wouldn’t really benefit “Mac Nubs”). What I will do is note a couple things I found interesting during this ordeal:
- Verifying the Installation Disc Before Proceeding
During the OS installation process, the MacBook wanted to make sure that the installation disc was good and readable before proceeding. Even though I understand why this is a good idea, it adds anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes to the recovery process. Also, if I’m not mistaken, the hard drive is already wiped at this point in the process, so why bother verifying? If the disc is bad, it’s bad and there’s no turning back now!
- Where the hell is iMovie?
This one really threw me for a loop. After installing Leopard clean and updating it to the nines, I let my seven year old son get on the MacBook. The first thing he asked was “Where’s iMovie?” I took the helm and went to the Applications folder. Sure enough, there was no iMovie to be found.
A few Googles later, I found a hint to a solution that led me to insert Install Disc 1, select the option for just installing the software packages, found the install for iMovie and loaded it. Can anyone explain to me why it wasn’t automatically installed with the rest of the iLife products?
All in all, the procedure was relatively painless. I hope this process was worth getting Boot Camp to run properly.
When not referring to himself in the third person, Brian likes rain and getting caught in Pina Coladas. Oh, and let's not forget making love to Cape dunes. Yeah, those really do it for me....er, um.. I mean Brian.