Operation Gadget

Category: Laptops & PCs

  • Why I Updated to MacOS X 10.5.3 Right Away

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteApple released MacOS X Version 10.5.3 earlier today. I first learned about the release when I was checking out Summize for the first time and saw references to Mac OS X and Leopard on the home page as “trending topics”. MacWorld has a good summary of the important fixes and new…

  • Replacing the Polar Infrared Interface USB Because It Doesn’t Work with My Mac

    Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Polar Infrared Interface USB commonly used with PCs running Windows XP doesn’t work on a Mac [ Photo: Dave Aiello on Flickr ] The Polar Infrared Interface USB that many people got with their Polar S-Series heart rate monitors is a USB 1.1 device. I’ve been trying to use it without success on…

  • How Apple Saved Mother’s Day

    Reading Time: 2 minutesKathleen and Jimmy looking at the iPhoto book that we ordered for her mom. The second copy arrived today. [ Photo: Dave Aiello on Flickr. ] Kathleen and I took advantage of an iPhoto Custom Photo Book promotion that Apple ran for Mother’s Day. We ordered Kathleen’s mother a hard cover photo book. We…

  • Twitterific vs Spaz: The Twitter Client Face-off on My Desktop

    Reading Time: 4 minutesI’ve been using Twitter for several weeks, because there are things that friends of mine might be interested in hearing about that will never make it into an email or an Operation Gadget post. Twitterific vs Spaz: These two desktop Twitter clients that run on the Mac are competing for space on…

  • Is This a Music Video or an Ad for Leopard?

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteHere’s a music video that’s making the rounds of web sites I read: The movement away from Windows and toward the Mac is still in it’s early stages, so lots of people haven’t seen all of these Mac applications before. My question is, does it make more sense as a music…

  • BlueLounge SpaceStation Organizes Cables for Laptop Users

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe BlueLounge SpaceStation is a desk organizer for laptop users that acts as a USB hub for all peripheral devices. BlueLounge SpaceStation [ Photo courtesy of the manufacturer. ] The photo I’ve chosen shows the bottom of the SpaceStation. The rubber feet set the SpaceStation 5mm above the surface of the desk. This…

  • Looking for a Way to Automatically Secure My MacBook Pro

    Reading Time: 2 minutesOn our trip to Buffalo this weekend, Kathleen, Jimmy, and I stayed in two Marriott properties that had public WiFi networks. The thing I didn’t like about them is that they are wide open networks which means anyone can join and do pretty much anything they want locally. I have my MacBook…

  • Apple Gets Big Bang for Its R&D Buck

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe Wall Street Journal Business Technology Blog reports that Apple spent $844 million on research and development in 2007, significantly less than competitors Microsoft, IBM, H-P, Sun, and AMD. This is interesting because everybody and their brother has been touting Apple as a uniquely innovative company. I think Apple succeeds so…

  • Apple’s Quarterly Earnings Up 36% On Strength in Mac Sales

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteI was one of the people who bought a Mac in the fiscal quarter that ended March 29. The last time I bought a Mac for myself was over 10 years ago. I guess wasn’t alone, because The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple’s quarterly earnings rose 36 percent, largely on…