New Mac hardware
As most of you are aware, I have decided to take the plunge into the Mac world due to my frustration with Vista as a primary operating system. There has been some bugs along the way but for the most part I am very pleased with Leopard along side my MacBook Pro. Recently I have added a few pieces of hardware that I would like to tell you about which will make your Mac experience that much better:
RocketFish BlueTooth mouse - this mouse is around $50 at Best Buy and in my opinion much better than the infamous "Mighty Mouse" from Apple. It is simple and white, but with a scroll wheel which I use quite a bit and never has lost a connection to my MacBook. The only drawback to this device is that it is not able to wake a MacBook from sleep mode but never the less, it is a great mouse.
Apple Time Capsule (500 gig) - this backup device is quite handy although I think there is quite a bit of room for improvement. If you are like most people and have an existing wireless network, setup for this device was a bit difficult at first, even for me who is an experienced network engineer. Once I was able to get it set up and working (the problem turned out to be that I was using an incompatible version of WEP and had to switch to WPA2) it works as advertised. Backups are automated on the hour which is nice, and you can prevent certain directories from being backed up. The problem I have is that the backups are not bootable, which is not good if you happen to lose your entire machine. You can rebuild a machine and then do a restore, which will take you longer and has more opportunity for mistakes. I would rather have a bootable solution, but it is at least integrated inside of Leopard. The biggest plus I have with the device is the ability to share multiple USB devices wirelessly, which is what I am doing with an Epson color printer and a Maxtor 750 gig USB drive. The only caveat is that the device cannot share NTFS drives, and they must be formatted in either Native Mac OS X or FAT32. FAT32 has a limitation of 4 gigs in a single file, so I had to back up my data and then format it using the built in disk utility before I could share the Maxtor. Overall, I am happy with the device but hopefully there will be some improvements in the near future.
Apple Wireless Keyboard - this keyboard is small, very small - it is wireless via Bluetooth, very slick looking and has a great touch on the keys. However, it takes a bit to get used to since it is so tiny. It would be nice if it had a number pad, but for that Apple look and feel, it is worth the cash. This device can wake a MacBook from sleep, which is nice - and it is easy to travel with as well if you need to. Make sure you try it hands on first before you decide to splash $70 bucks on this one.
Samsung T240 24" monitor - picked this up at Best Buy and I am very happy with the purchase. It is cheaper than a comparible Apple monitor and provides great max resolution and refresh rate. Very sharp and clear, and makes using your computer a joy. If you are going to splurge on a piece of hardware, splurge on a monitor - your eyes will thank you.
RocketFish BlueTooth mouse - this mouse is around $50 at Best Buy and in my opinion much better than the infamous "Mighty Mouse" from Apple. It is simple and white, but with a scroll wheel which I use quite a bit and never has lost a connection to my MacBook. The only drawback to this device is that it is not able to wake a MacBook from sleep mode but never the less, it is a great mouse.
Apple Time Capsule (500 gig) - this backup device is quite handy although I think there is quite a bit of room for improvement. If you are like most people and have an existing wireless network, setup for this device was a bit difficult at first, even for me who is an experienced network engineer. Once I was able to get it set up and working (the problem turned out to be that I was using an incompatible version of WEP and had to switch to WPA2) it works as advertised. Backups are automated on the hour which is nice, and you can prevent certain directories from being backed up. The problem I have is that the backups are not bootable, which is not good if you happen to lose your entire machine. You can rebuild a machine and then do a restore, which will take you longer and has more opportunity for mistakes. I would rather have a bootable solution, but it is at least integrated inside of Leopard. The biggest plus I have with the device is the ability to share multiple USB devices wirelessly, which is what I am doing with an Epson color printer and a Maxtor 750 gig USB drive. The only caveat is that the device cannot share NTFS drives, and they must be formatted in either Native Mac OS X or FAT32. FAT32 has a limitation of 4 gigs in a single file, so I had to back up my data and then format it using the built in disk utility before I could share the Maxtor. Overall, I am happy with the device but hopefully there will be some improvements in the near future.
Apple Wireless Keyboard - this keyboard is small, very small - it is wireless via Bluetooth, very slick looking and has a great touch on the keys. However, it takes a bit to get used to since it is so tiny. It would be nice if it had a number pad, but for that Apple look and feel, it is worth the cash. This device can wake a MacBook from sleep, which is nice - and it is easy to travel with as well if you need to. Make sure you try it hands on first before you decide to splash $70 bucks on this one.
Samsung T240 24" monitor - picked this up at Best Buy and I am very happy with the purchase. It is cheaper than a comparible Apple monitor and provides great max resolution and refresh rate. Very sharp and clear, and makes using your computer a joy. If you are going to splurge on a piece of hardware, splurge on a monitor - your eyes will thank you.
posted by Rick Mitchell Solutions @ 9:53 AM
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