Retro Skills: Clean Out Your Mouse

Apple Macintosh Plus mice (left) Beige mouse (...

Image via Wikipedia

Over the years I’ve acquired quite a few valuable technical skills. Many of them are as useful today as they were back when i learned them.

The art of de-gunking a computer mouse is not one of those skills, sadly, and has not held its value.

For my kids’ sake (in the event that they should ever find themselves trapped in the past and the only way to get back to the future is to perform an intricate series of mouse clicks and the darn thing just isn’t responding), below are detailed instructions courtesy of an old 1990s Macintosh Classic factory manual I found several months back.

Mac Clean Mouse Part 1

Mac Clean Mouse Part 2

It’s amazing that so much care went into describing such a mundane and now obsolete process. That’s part of what made Apple’s culture the way it is today.

What’s the most irrelevant technical skill you mastered? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Favorite Things: DODOcase for iPad 2

DODOcase Sticker

Sleek. Elegant. Sophisticated.

You could use those three words to describe the DODOcase for iPad 2, but then I’d be forced to call you a pretentious schmuck.

As soon as I got my iPad 2 I knew exactly which case I wanted for it—the DODOcase. I’d read the glowing reviews about it on blogs like Engadget and TUAW, but (more importantly) it fit my own personal criteria. I wanted an iPad case that would do the following:

  1. Look great
  2. Protect the front and back of my iPad
  3. Not announce to the entire world that I have an iPad

I’m happy to report that the DODOcase succeeds on all counts.
For the uninitiated, the DODOcase looks like a large Moleskine notebook.

DODOcase Front

DODOcases are made using traditional bookbinding processes right here in the good old US of A. The do a fantastic job of telling their own story here.

For about six months I’ve been extremely satisfied with my DODOcase purchase. The other day, however, I noticed that the bamboo frame of the case had a large crack in one of the corners and was precariously close to falling off completely.

I wrote a quick note to customer service describing the issue and explaining my concern that the case hadn’t lasted longer. I also and attached the image below to my note.

IMG00124-20120103-1733

One minute later, I had a response. That’s not a typo. That’s not an exaggeration. Let me say it again. One minute later, I had a response.

The email was from a real, live human being who apologized for the problem, thanked me for sending them the picture and provided full resolution in their first communication.

The customer service agent advised me that super glue might work, but also offered to send me a replacement. I chose the latter and three days later I had my new DODOcase.

DODOcase Bookplate

DODOcase Bookplate

Ever since advent of overseas call centers fueled by large corporations’ rise in apathy over the care of the people who buy their products and services we have come to expect poor customer service. Sadly, a company that cares about those who pay its bills is the exception and not the norm.

DODOcase is that exception. They are the Nordstroms of iPad cases. They sell fine products at a premium, but not only are you getting an excellent product, more importantly, you know that they will stand by their products and treat you right.

I’ll warrant that my DODOcase gets at least as many stares as my iPad itself. Everyone compliments me on my handsome notebook and if when they get the chance to look inside they’re even more impressed.

Are you willing to pay more for a premium product or premium customer service? Have you found a company or product you like that offers both? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder

This weekend we helped my wife’s sister move into her new home. Instead of unloading boxes and furniture, however, we were brought in to clean the place up.

The previous occupants left a hideous mess which needed to be removed. Yet, within the debris something special caught my eye!

Macintosh Classic Logo (Pixelscreen)

I couldn’t believe it—a real honest to goodness, old school Macintosh Classic! Were my eyes deceived? Had the former tenants left in such a hurry that they’d neglected to retrieve their priceless treasure?

And then, I thought to myself…

“I wonder if this thing works!?!?”

At that moment, I knew I had an entry for this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

So, I grabbed the Mac, it’s keyboard, mouse, and cables, hooked them up and plugged it in.

Macintosh Classic (Unorthodox Pop)

As I waited with gleeful anticipation for the familiar Macintosh startup chime I was greeted instead with what sounded like a dying dial–modem and the smell of burning plastic.

Unfortunately, there was a reason that this particular Macintosh had not been brought with its owners.

Old School Macintosh Classic (Found)

This Macintosh Classic has passed on. It is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet its maker. In short, it’s run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible.

No longer did I wonder whether or not this Mac would run. For I knew that this was an ex-Mac.

Want to participate in the challenge? Head on over to The Daily Post and follow the instructions below.

1. Each week, [they] provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2011″ or “postaweek2011″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

Now, take a picture that captures this week’s theme and post a link to it in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Free iPad User Guide from Apple

Screenshot of iPad User Guide for iOS 5 in iTunes

Last month Apple released iOS 5, the latest operating system upgrade for the their iPad and iPhone lines. With this release they added over 200 features in addition to the usual flurry of bug fixes and ever popular “performance enhancements”.

While they’ve done an excellent job improving the platform with the release of iOS5, what Apple hasn’t done very well is articulate how to take advantage out of all that’s new and improved.

Thankfully, Apple has released a free eBook explaining all the ins and outs of their latest and greatest. Want to know what’s in book?

“Here’s everything you need to know about iPad, in a handy eBook format. Get to know iPad and discover all the amazing things it can do, and how to do them. It’s the definitive guide for getting the most from your new iPad, straight from Apple. The iPad User Guide is an essential part of any iPad library.”

You can download the iPad User Guide for free from the iBookstore in iTunes. An iPhone User Guide is also available in iTunes.

With your iOS 5 user guide loaded on your iPad and/or iPhone you’ll be setting yourself Reminders, iMessaging friends and family, and configuring Notification Center with the best of them.

Apple Quietly Fixes iTunes Search Aggravation

A recent update to iTunes finally fixed a long-standing annoyance. For years if you wanted to search in the iTunes Music and AppStore (or your iTunes library itself) you had to hold the shortcut key combo of Option, Command, and F.

Old iTunes Search

This is a total break in UI consistency in how most apps on the Mac platform implement search. When Apple released the Mac AppStore earlier this year they got search right by using the same shortcut every other Mac app uses.

Mac AppStore Search

And now, finally, I can use the same shortcut to search iTunes that I use to search the Mac AppStore, a Web page in Chrome, a spreadsheet in Numbers, or even the draft of a blog post in MarsEdit. Simply hold the Command and F keys to go to the search field.

New iTunes Search

One of the first things I noticed after upgrading to the iCloud compatible iTunes was this fix in functionality. Although it may have appeared earlier, I’ve just noticed it with the recent upgrade to iTunes 10.5.

iTunes Music Store Search

This works whether you’re searching the iTunes Music Store …

iTunes AppStore Search

… the iTunes AppStore …

iTunes Search

… and in your iTunes Music Library, Videos, Apps, Books, etc.

Fixing the iTunes search shortcut may seem like a small change, but it’s so much more convenient to have a uniform shortcut across all apps on the OS.

Have you noticed any other recent changes for the better (or worse) in Lion, the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

It’s OK to Ask (Your Mac) For Help

Yes, I have a degree in IT. No, that doesn’t mean I automatically know how to use every single feature of every single computer program ever written (I wish!).

Even though this might violate the unofficial “guy code” and the “geek protocol” I’m going to come out and admit to something.

It’s OK to ask for help.

Whoa, you have no idea how much better I feel now! That was really liberating.

Finding help on for Mac apps couldn’t be easier. You can use Google and pray that you type in something that gives you back something relevant or you can the Help Search function built in to every new Mac since late 2007.

If you don’t know how to use Google you’re probably also running Windows and I can’t help you (no one can). Sorry.

If you’re on a Mac, you’re in luck—I’ve got a great little shortcut to share with you.

Show Help

Let’s suppose I’m writing a message in Sparrow and want to copy some text from a Web page in Chrome, but also want it to have the same formatting as the rest of the email.

To find out how to do that hold the Shift, Command, and Forward Slash keys and then — BAM!!!!

Help Menu Search 1

The Help Menu Search comes up for Sparrow (or whatever the active application is). As soon as I start typing, suggested menu items start to appear.

Help Menu Search 2

The more text I type, the more refined the search results appear. I can use the keyboard arrows to select the desired result; how to paste text and match document formatting in this example.

Help Menu Search 3

The popular Webcomic XKCD has perfectly summed up how I go about helping when I’m asked how to do something on a computer with this handy, dandy flowchart.

XKCD Tech Support Flowchart
Image via XKCD

Where do you go for IT help when you don’t know what to do? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.