A few weeks ago, I purchased the ZAGG Auto Fit 10” keyboard folio to replace the dreadful keyboard supplied with the ASUS Transformer Book T100. The ASUS tablet popped right into place and I have been using the keyboard with the Windows tablet ever since.
On a lark, I tried to insert my iPad 3rd generation into the keyboard enclosure, but the form factor was too tall.
In the intervening weeks, I shipped the iPad 3 off to Gazelle. On Saturday. en email from Best Buy arrived in my inbox. In it was a trade-in offer for the iPad 2 I had purchased some three years ago. I took the iPad 2 to my local Best Buy and walked out with a new iPad Air 2.
I looked at the iPad Air 2 and noted the sleek lines when compared to my iPad 3. I picked up the ZAGG keyboard and popped the ASUS tablet out and popped the iPad Air 2 in. Well, by gosh and by golly (pardon my language) the new iPad fit very nicely. The new iPad is clad in a thin TPU case. I positioned the tablet with a slight bias to the right to clear the “Volume Up” button.
I haven’t paired the iPad and ZAGG keyboard yet. That will be the next step in the process. The iPad may be compatible with the keyboard in fit alone, but I am hopeful of more.
I guess I expected it. Even though i hoped it wouldn’t happen.
On Septemer 17th, I, like many others, downloaded and installed the latest iOS offering (iOS 8) on my iPhone 5s, my iPad mini Retina, and my iPad 3.
I expected some glitches to occur with some apps. For example, I had to delete and reinstall the Audigle app on my iPad mini. I did not expect to suffer issues related to basic system capabilities.
iPad mini
Multitask Gestures – I didn’t realize how much I used the 5 finger pinch to dismiss an app and the 4 finger up to show the list of running apps. Not working.
Zoom – iOS 8 has a new Zoom window. You can configure the Zoom to be the standard full screen or the Zoom Window. Zoom Window displays a wire frame outline showing you what portion of the screen will zoom in/out. Don’t want to use Zoom Window, but it keeps activating even though I am not selecting the feature. Most annoying.
VoiceOver – I use voiceOver qujite a lot to scan though different feeds in the Flipboard app. Prior to the update to iOS 8, I could “flip” to the next or previous page of articles using three fingers. Now all I get is a beep. In order to move to the next page, I have to disable VoiceOver (3 presses of the Home button), swipe left or right to move to the desired page, then re-enable VoiceOver. Most annoying.
3rd Party Keyboards – One of the iOS 8 features I anticipated the most was the addition of 3rd party keyboards that could be used system wide. I downloaded 4 contenders; SwiftKey, Swype, Fleksy and TouchPal. I select the keyboard I wantm but the selection does not stick. i do not know what triggers the “switch back”, but when I wake the device up, when the keyboard appears, it is the Apple keyboard and not the 3rd party keyboard. Perhaps this is user error in that there is some magic checkbox that needs selecting.
Spotlight Search – Spotlight search still works, but in landscape mode, the keyboard appears on the right of the screen in a Portrait mode configuration.
iPad 3
Zoom – I don’t use the iPad 3 too much anymore, but there is a definite problem with Zoom functionality. I noted it when attempting to install iOS 8. When, after a number of hard resets, I got to the “Hello” window, all I could see was a very large “Hel” on the right side of the screen. Try as I might, the three finger double tap would not correct the issue. After a number of reset attempts, the “Hello” window appeared as normal. Now when I activate Zoom (three finger double tap), I have to pull down with three fingers to zoom in. This is the exact reverse of the expected interface; push up to Zoom In and pull down to Zoom out. This reversal would be a mild annoyance in itself, but the Zoom function is not stable. The amount of Zoom is not controllable. It takes many attempts to Zoom in or Out.
Others share some of the problems listed here. Here’s hoping Apple has a quick turn around with an 8.0.1 patch to address these issues.
In January, I retired my 2006 Mac Pro. Still a good workhorse of a computer, but Apple had left it behind as support for the hardware ended with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.
In June, 2013, I acquired a taste for a new desktop in the form of a new MacBook Air. While not really a desktop, I put the MBA through it’s paces as a replacement for my Mac Pro. The MBA was fast, especially the 256 GB solid state drive. The system booted quickly and programs launched with imperceptible delay. It could be my new desktop; except for one drawback. The laptop was equipped with 4 GB of RAM, not the 18 GB in my Mac Pro. For normal operations, the 4 GB did the job, but when I launched a series of Windows and Linux Virtual Machines, the memory limitation was evident.
My next foray was to use the Chameleon boot-loader trick to spoof the old 32-bit EFI hardware so that OL X 10.9 Mavericks could find a new home on the machine. This worked with limited success, but was tedious to say the least and never felt just right; kind of a “hackintosh” taste with visions of disaster around each corner.
In stepped a new 2013 iMac. I upgraded the original 8 GB of RAM to 24 GB. All was well…except I had failed to learn the lesson of the MacBook Air and SSD technology. I succumbed to an enticing price at my local Best Buy and purchased a unit with a traditional 1 TB, 7200 RPM spinning piece of “sloooooow” regrets.
Don’t get me wrong, the iMac is a great machine, but, it would have been greater if I had skipped the bargain basement price and opted for a unit with an SSD. Well, there are silver linings. I run my desktop on a 24/7 basis and I have noticed that my electricity bill has dropped since I unplugged the old Mac Pro.
And then there is that nagging “Pssst” sound every time I walk by a new Mac Pro in the Apple Store.
Back in 2006, I purchased my Mac Pro 1,1. Over the years, it has served me well. Starting with OS X Tiger (10.4) to OS X Lion (10.7), I added upgrades to my system; additional RAM, more hard disks and, in anticipation of OS X 10.8, a new ATI Radeon 5770 HD graphics upgrade.
Well, I was a little more than disappointed when I learned that Apple was abandoning support for my Mac Pro at the shores of OS X Lion. The 10.8 ship sailed and my Mac Pro wasn’t on it.
When OS X Mavericks was announced, I hoped against hope that Apple would rescue my Mac Pro and bring it back into the fold. This was not to be. Instead, I updated my MacBook Air 2013 to the new OS and relegated my Mac Pro to “ride the bench”.
In the past few weeks, I started to consider my technical life after the Mac Pro. My Air was playing the role of a desktop, but I really wanted a true desktop for my office. What would it be; a Mac Mini, iMac or perhaps, the new Mac Pro 2013? Also, what would I do with my old Mac Pro. Maybe sell it on eBay…
My old Mac Pro had enough of this sort of talk. “I can still do the job! Give me a chance!”. I looked at my Mac Pro, considered it for a moment and then decided to give it one more upgrade.
With the help of this website, and a new SSD drive, I now introduce my “new” Mac Pro running OS X Mavericks 10.9.1.
In my last two posts, I reported on my progress in fielding my new MacBook Air 2013 as a desktop machine. One of the challenges I encountered was the selection of a keyboard. For a period of time, my desk was cluttered with two keyboards; one for the MacBook Air (Apple Wireless) and one (Logitech K750) for my previous desktop (2006 Mac Pro).
The use of two separate keyboards was less than ideal. It soon dropped to one keyboard. My daughter had a need for a keyboard so off went my trusty Apple Wireless.
I then used the K750 for both desktops by switching the wireless USB dongle from one desktop to the other. This worked, but it was less than ideal. Who am I kidding? I was looking for a reason to buy a new keyboard.
In stepped the Logitech K811 Easy Switch Bluetooth keyboard. The keyboard provides the ability to pair with up to three separate devices and provides a set of three buttons to quickly select the device. The K811 form factor was similar to the Apple Wireless and supports both Mac and Apple iOS. Logitech has a similar model for those Windows users as well. The Mac version provides the standard set of Mac/iOS keys. The typing experience is excellent. I also appreciate the black chiclet style keys with white lettering (easier for me to find a not often used key).
The best thing is that the keyboard supports three devices. I am using only 2/3 of the keyboard’s potential. Hmmm… perhaps another desktop.
A few days ago, I posted an article relating my efforts to transform my 2013 MacBook Air into my new desktop. At the time of the post, I was waiting on the final piece of the puzzle; the LandingZone 2.0 Pro dock.
As fate would have it, the dock arrived the next day. I unboxed the item and made the connections to my external monitor and an external USB 3.0 drive.
My impressions:
Overall, the dock seems to be a well constructed product. One shortcoming was the hinged handle in the back of the unit. My natural tendency was to use this handle to close the device. Thankfully, I did a quick read of the user guide which dutifully informed me that this is a NO NO. The handle is used only to release the laptop from the unit when undocking. Perhaps I am the only person that made this assumption, but some labeling on the hinge might prove beneficial.
From a usage point of view, I have some difficulty in mating the USB and DisplayPort components of the dock with the physical connections on the sides of the MacBook Air. After a little jockeying for position, the plugs line up and the two end close up to secure the MBA in place.
Once secure, the dock provides everything I need:
four powered USB 3.0 ports
a Gigabit Ethernet Port (need to download and install a driver)
a mini DisplayPort connection
What I appreciate about the dock is the ability to open the MBA when needed to access the laptop (keyboard, trackpad, etc) without having to undock. This was a feature that the different vertical docking solutions did not provide.
Though a little pricey at $199, I am more than satisfied with the LandingZone 2.0 Pro Dock for my MacBook Air.
MacBook Air 11.6″ mid 2013 (Photo credit: Moridin_)
In early July, I purchased the new 13″ MacBook Air to replace my 2008 unibody MacBook. The MacBook, as have other Mac laptops in that past, had migrated to a family member to replace a failed Windows machine (BTW, all the Apple laptops are still functioning; even a 2005 iBook).
As I had done in the past, I put the new Air in my laptop bag. If my usage patterns remained the same, it would see the light of day on an infrequent basis. It was my “I can’t get to my desktop” machine. You know, the family comes for a visit. My office turns into a bedroom. I can’t get the my trusty Mac Pro (2006 edition) and the iPad is just not quite enough.
But, there was something different. This was my first introduction to a PC equipped with a solid state drive (SSD) and the battery life was amazing to say the least. Not to mention that I could take advantage of Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Alas, the powers at Apple determined that my Mac Pro needed to be marrooned at Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Still a touchy subject with me. The Air provides the promise of future compatibility with later versions of the Mac OS.
However, my vision limitations still requires the use of an external monitor for longer sessions. I can use the small laptop screen in tandem with Mac OS X accessibility features for a short time, but long sessions necessitate the external monitor.
Well, I am attempting to cultivate the MacBook Air into my new desktop machine. My intended setup includes:
the MacBook Air (kinda seems an important part)
mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable (happened to have one handy)
Gateway 24″ LCD monitor. Getting “long in the tooth”. I want to replace it with a new LED monitor at some point.
Apple Magic Mouse (again; had one gathering dust in my desk drawer). I use the Magic TrackPad for the MacPro. If all goes well, I will switch them around.
Logitech K750 Solar keyboard. Right now, I am “sharing” the keyboard between the Mac Pro and Air by switching the wireless uSB receiver. I am considering purchasing the Logitech Easy-Switch Bluetooth keyboard for a multi-link capability, but I like the full sized keyboard with the numeric keypad. Yes, I had tried Bluetooth keypads, but never had much luck with them.
My new desktop is up and functioning, but I am lacking USB expansion. It’s also a little inconvenient to plug everything up to use and unplug everything to go mobile.
Now enters the next piece of the puzzle; the LandingZone 2.0 Pro Dock for the MacBook Air. It’s supposed to arrive on Tuesday. Looks promising. The LandingZone dock provides a dedicated mini DisplayPort connection, Gigabit Ethernet and a powered USB 3.0 hub. Just line the MBA up and snap it in place. There were other docking solutions that I considered, but most required you to stand the Air on it’s side pointing vertically toward the ceiling. Not much help if I wanted to open up the lid to activate the onboard display, keyboard or touchpad.
I had been hearing of the upcoming release of a new iPad Bluetooth keyboard from Logitech. This, of course, peaked my internal craving for new technologies which is clearly evident when in comes to iPad related accessories.
On Saturday, I was strolling through the various displays at my local Best Buy store when I turned a corner and there it was; a cardboard stand adorned with FabricSkin keyboards.
I am certainly aware of my continuous battle between “Want” and “Need” in the realm of technology and the great tendency for “Wants” to masquerade as “Needs”.
At the time, I was ocillating between the use of the Logitech UltraThin keyboard and the Apple Wireless keyboard/Incase Origami combination. Both are good solutions, but each lacked something. The Logitech ultraThin lacked the protection I wanted for my iPad. The Apple/Incase combo allowed me to use a separate protective case for the iPad, but lacked some basic function. Most notably was a simple On/Off switch for the keyboard. It’s somewhat embarrassing when a cool tune starts playing from your briefcase when the Apple keyboard’s media button gets bumped because the keyboard wasn’t officially “off”.
Well, “Want” kicked “Need” out the door today when I walked out of the Best Buy with the FabricSkin tucked under my arm (after I paid for it, of course). The case paired easily with the iPad; no “pin” was requested. The case is currently sitting next to me charging up; getting ready for it’s debut at work in the morning.
The case addresses the two basic issues noted above. The FabricSkin is a case completely enclosing the iPad. Like the Apple wireless keyboard, it doesn’t have an On/Off switch, but it has something better. When the iPad is placed in “typing” position, magnets within the case detect the positioning and the keyboard is turned on. When the iPad is moved from the “typing” position, the keyboard is turned off; kind of a “set it and forget it” operating mode.
My test typing at Best Buy and here at home seem fine, but the true test is typing notes during my day-to-day use of the iPad at work. Will I have to search for keys more than I touch type? Time will tell.
The one downside currently is the price. At $149.99, the case seems a little overpriced. But “Want” didn’t care about that.
There are several sources for free e-books on the web. I would like to compare four of them.
Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org)
PRO: It has the largest selection of old literature, with over 40,000 free ebooks available in PDF, Kindle (Amazon), and ePub (Apple) formats. The books have surprisingly few misspellings, given that they are proofread by amateur volunteers.
CON: The books often lack working tables of contents, or page breaks at the beginnings of chapters, and the books always begin and end with long, annoying licenses.
Amazon (www.amazon.com)
PRO: They offer many of Project Gutenberg’s books, with those long licenses removed, as well as many books from non-Gutenberg sources, for free download using Whispernet, which is the easiest way to download onto Kindle devices. You can also read them on the Kindle app on Apple devices and sync between devices.
CON: But they make no attempt to fix the tables of contents or add page breaks to beginnings of chapters.
The Apple Bookstore
PRO: This is the only source I’ve found that always makes the extra effort to assure that the table of contents works and the chapters begin with page breaks. You can also sync these between Apple devices. Not surprisingly, this is the most convenient source for downloading onto Apple devices.
CON: But you can only buy and read these books on Apple devices, not Kindle.
The Mises Institute (www.mises.org)
PRO: While the other three sources provide very few free books published after 1922 due to copyright laws, the Mises Institute has been granted permission to offer over two thousand more recent books about history, economics, and philosophy for free, in PDF and ePub formats.
CON: But if you’re not interested in revisionist history, Austrian economics, or libertarian philosophy, never mind.
Just a quick post to air my Apple disappointments for 2012.
Another OS Abandonment
Once again, Apple abandoned a number of older hardware with the release of OS 10.8 Mountain Lion. Chief among the cast-offs was the original Mac Pro 1,1 (2006). I had updated mine in January 2012 to 18 GB RAM and an ATI Radeon 5770 HD only to learn later that the final OS release would not support the hardware.
Prior to this letdown, I survived the PowerPC layoff caused by OS 10.6 Snow Leopard.
I will continue to slog on with OS 10.7 Lion; event though the Messages beta was pulled. My Mac Pro had too many productive years still remaining. My hope would be that either Apple would relent with OS 10.9 or that a workaround would be available that didn’t take 30 steps to accomplish.
iOS Accessibility – Keyboard Themes
I don’t want to jailbreak my devices, but Color Keyboard may force the issue. All I want is the ability to change the color theme for the on-screen keyboard in order to aid my impaired vision. On my iPad, I want black keys with white letters. I know. I can get this effect by using the High Contrast settings in Accessibility, but that also affects the entire screen which I do not want.
The jailbreak app Color Keyboard shows that this feature is entirely possible. Why, oh why Apple can you not provide such a simple request?
iPad mini – No Retina Display
Don’t get me wrong. I certainly enjoy my iPad mini, but a Retina Display would have been nice
.
iPad 4
I understand that technology marches on, but I had hoped that my iPad 3 would have been “cutting edge” for a few more months; at least until 2013.
A few weeks ago, I purchased the ZAGG Auto Fit 10” keyboard folio to replace the dreadful keyboard supplied with the ASUS Transformer Book T100. The ASUS tablet popped right into place and I have been using the keyboard with the Windows tablet ever since.
I guess I expected it. Even though i hoped it wouldn’t happen.
