Apple Cinema Display Meet Microsoft Surface Pro

Even though my Microsoft Surface Pro tablet has a mini display port, I couldn't get the diminutive windows wonder to power my 27" Apple Cinema Display (the LED version before Thunderbolt).  Fortunately, I found an economical way to get things working.  The key to success was finding the Kanex-SnapX-2x-Switcher-Mac on Amazon for about $55.  This device is intended to permit sharing of the display between two Apple computers, but it works great with one or two non-Apple devices plugged into it as well.  I've successfully used both my Surface Pro and a Samsung Chromebook Series 550 with the addition of a display port to mini display port adapter.  Not the most elegant solution, maybe, but it is a workable solution that won't cost you a lot of dough.

Vintage Mac: Leaky Caps

Owning an old Mac is complicated. I was prepared for the software side of things. I was even prepared for hardware compromises and incompatibility in my quest to use a Mac Classic in 2011. What I hadn't considered is the physical deterioration of old electronics after 27 years. Now that I've had an opportunity to become acquainted with my Mac Classic, I'm discovering that things aren't working all that well.

One obstacle is that my hard drive is only recognized periodically. Whenever I first remove the Classic from its bag and boot it up, I get prompted to enter a floppy with a system disk. After the system boots from the floppy the hard disk still isn't recognized. Yet, after several restarts or passage of time (I'm not sure which) the hard drive suddenly reappears and tests out with no errors. I am not sure why I'm experiencing this behavior. It wasn't doing this when I first got the Classic. It started after I re-initialized the hard disk and installed System 6.0.8 instead of System 7.1 that it came with.

Another problem is that the PRAM battery is dead so it doesn't remember settings. I can buy a new battery so that's not a major problem. A third more serious issue is that I have no sound. I didn't even notice it at first and it wouldn't be that big of a deal except that it is a symptom of leaky capacitors on the motherboard. Some people suggest removing the leaky capacitors and replacing them. That process requires a steady hand and quite a bit of soldering. That's a skill I don't have. I never realized that these electronic components fail with age. Another potential solution to the problem is to wash the motherboard in the dishwasher! It sounds crazy but people say that washing the gunk from the leaky capacitors off the motherboard fixes sound and video problems the leaking causes. I'm hesitant to open up the Classic to remove the motherboard, however, because the CRT contains high voltage. It's just not worth it for me to get electrocuted so I can play with an old Mac. I'm just not confident that I know what I'm doing to risk it. I've already learned a lot from this process. A big lesson is that if you want to work with vintage computers you need to be comfortable taking them apart and soldering.

Apple Tax Advice: $1000 deduction?

This Apple ad has been bugging me all day. What $1000 tax deduction are they talking about? Why $1000?  Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to expense 100% of the cost of new assets purchased for use in the taxpayer's business?  There's no $1000 limit to this deduction.  However, there are other limitations. For example, the Section 179 deduction can't create a tax loss.  Plus, the IRS classifies computers as listed property, so tax deductions are limited to the percentage of business use.  If you use your computer partly for business and partly for personal use, only the business percentage may be claimed as a tax deduction.  I wish I could figure out exactly what Apple was talking about in this ad.  Any ideas?

Apple Software Update?

What gives with the latest Apple Software Update?  I accepted the update on my 12" Powerbook and on restart I got hung with the setup assistant running over and over again.  About the third time of entering the information, I figured out, "this isn't going to stop, is it?"  I checked Apple's support site and found this knowledgebase article. I'm all better now. Thank you.

Let the Gift Card Games Begin...

I got a $40 Apple gift card for Christmas.  Even though I can't really buy anything there for that amount that I want, the fact that I have a gift card sets in motion a whole process of deciding what my next Apple purchase should be.  Office for Mac 2008?  That is certainly something I will be buying, with or without the gift card. A new bag for the BlackBook?  I broke the strap on my "big bag" so there is definitely a perceived need to replace it.  A new ultra-portable Mac something-or-other?  Let's wait and see what "one more thing" Macworld brings us!  

My youngest daughter joined the iPhone toters in my house this Christmas. So, I'm now a 3-iPhone household. Thanks RSJ for upping the limit to 5 from 2.  I can now get one for my wife and one of the 2 dogs and still be legit.  Which dog? Hmm...

Numbers spreadsheet meets iPhone...

Can I open a simple Numbers spreadsheet as an e-mail attachment on my iPhone? No. I created a simple spreadsheet and saved it as a normal Numbers file. I opened Apple mail and sent a message to my Gmail account with the spreadsheet attached. I receive the message and the attachment is shown to be a zip file. I am not able to open it. This is an Apple spreadsheet and an Apple phone, yes? Please let me know if you get a different result.

Numbers chokes importing text file

My client sends me a text file of some financials. In Excel, I can import the file and get a dialogue that walks me through the process of parsing the file into columns. In Numbers, it will read the file and import the entire line into one cell. I can't figure out a way to parse the cell into columns. If you know a way to do this, please advise.

Meeting with Dr. Mac

I'm liveblogging from the Apple Corps of Dallas meeting. Today, our guest is Bob "Dr. Mac" Levitus. Bob is a real Mac genius (not the retail variety) and author of about 50 books about the Mac. Here's some bullet points from Bob's presentation:

* Plug for Time Machine in Leopard to keep us backed up so we don't lose data.
* Consulting business is 100% Skype. He doesn't even use a landline.
* Wishing us happy birthday - Apple Corps Dallas is 30 years old this year. We're the oldest MUG in the world.
* If you have less than 2GB RAM, upgrade!!!!
* Loves his iPhone, that he paid his own money for.
* What's the story on viruses, malware, and worms for Mac? No story as far as he's concerned...
* Just installed iWork '08...showed new slide builds in Keynote
* Cheap or free software demos
** Amnesty Singles - allows you to run widgets on desktop without invoking Dashboard. Not free but cheap.
** Whoopee Cushion widget - real easy way to make kids go away.
** istat pro - widget with Mac performance data.
** Mouse locator -- helps you find the cursor on big monitors. Free.
** Go to versiontracker.com or macupdate.com to find free software.
** Keyboard cleaner - launch before you clean keyboard so you don't type anything while you are cleaning. Free.
** SRS iWow. 30-day free trial on SRS Labs website. Makes iTunes sound better. $20
** Launch Bar - first $20 he spends on every Mac. Really smart file finder and launcher.
**** Remembers what shortcuts you type to search to launch an app without setup.
**** Finds contacts in Address book and shows phone number really big on screen.
**** it calculates.
**** It will even launch apps without hitting return if you hold down last letter for even faster launching.
** Marine Acquarium - $12.95 for those moments when you need relaxation and the fish never float to the top.
**** Fish will swim across two monitors.
** Likes a 5-button mouse - he's not exactly on same page as El Jobso on the mouse button. MX Revolution is fave.
** New Power Video Plus - $50 extends iPod or iPhone battery life significantly. Newer Technology.
** Omni Cleanz - use to clean monitors. Comes with microfiber cloth. Likes better than iClear. Radtech.us
** Back Office back-pack by Shawn Jackson Designs.

Numbers and Excel

My iWork and iLife came by UPS today. I haven't had much time to play but I did get it installed. First, off I loaded an Excel spreadsheet that I was creating to import a trial balance into my tax software. I had no problem loading the spreadsheet as it's pretty simple really. To import the file into the tax software, I needed to save it as Excel. Apple does things a bit differently, in that there isn't a "save as" option for excel. Instead, you find the Excel format as an option under "File" and then "Export." Having accomplished the saving in Excel format, I loaded my tax software and tried to import the Excel spreadsheet. I couldn't get the tax software to recognize the spreadsheet as Excel. I loaded the spreadsheet back into Excel and resaved it. It worked fine after that. I need to do more testing of the export to Excel. If we numbers people can't use Numbers interactively with Excel it's not going to do us much good. More on this later.

More, More, More!!!

WOOOOOOOT!