March 14th, 2009
I’ve just compiled a list of all the known Apple recalls (aka Exchange & Repair Programs). It includes current and expired recalls (so people can know if there is a known problem with their system even if Apple won’t cover it anymore), how to identify problem models, and links directly to Apple’s site for each specific recall.
This information should be helpful for Mac techs (like myself) and fix-it-yourself power users, plus anyone else hoping to troubleshoot their broken Mac.
The list is in a wide (spreadsheet) format, so it will open in a new window.
* Please notify me of any errors or missing recalls.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: apple, apple recall, apple recalls, apple repair and exchange program, exchange, exchange program, mac, mac exchange, mac recall, recall, recall list, rep, repair, repair & exchange, return
Posted in Tech | No Comments »
March 8th, 2009
Man I love ifixit.com. They’ve got a great looking (and easy to navigate) site for buying Mac parts along with dozens of custom made instruction manuals for many Mac computers.
But today they’ve stepped it up — showing us how to hack the Mini (by removing the optical drive) in order to fit a second hard drive, allowing up to 1TB of storage (with 2×500gb sata drives).
Photo from ifixit.com Mac Mini 1TB Installation Guide
It involves a little soldiering, but looks pretty easy if you know what you’re doing: take a look at ifixit’s Mac Mini 1TB Installation Guide and upgrade kit ($249 for everything you need, minus soldiering tools).
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: mac mini, mac mini hack, mini 1tb, mini hack, mini hard drive, mini hard drive upgrade, upgrade mac mini
Posted in Tech | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009
While most online songs are in MP3 format, which is compressed and degrades audio quality, some are available in another format called FLAC. FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. FLAC file sizes are much larger in exchange for superior sound quality (like a CD) — they also aren’t supported in iTunes.
I recently downloaded some FLAC audio tracks and started looking for the best way to get them into iTunes; enter Fluke.
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Popularity: 7% [?]
Tags: convert flac, FLAC, flac itunes, flac to itunes, fluke, itunes, itunes flac, lossless
Posted in Applications | No Comments »
February 22nd, 2009
A few days ago I made my yearly move from Safari to Firefox. It starts up quicker for me than Safari and web pages load 2-3x faster.
However, I was stumped today when I wanted my Mac to read me a Flash 101 tutorial. I went to Firefox -> Services -> Speech, but “Start Speaking Text” was grayed out.
After a quick Google search I found a simple 2-step solution (thanks to aynmensch @ mozillazine): setup a shortcut key for “reading selected text” which can be evoked within Firefox.
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Popularity: 7% [?]
Tags: firefox, firefox speak text, mac, speak text, speech, Speech synthesis, Start Speaking Text, Text-To-Speech
Posted in Applications, Hint, Keyboard Shortcuts | 2 Comments »
February 20th, 2009
Did you know that your MacBook display is more than just a display? It’s also a paper organizer, key holder, paper clip holder, business card holder; the possibilities are endless (okay, not really, but you can be magnetically creative).
My MacBook display being used to hold business cards, keys, a lighter, and a receipt, along with a paper clip holding a bag of screws.
Keep reading for the details… Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: hold notes on macbook, mabook magnet, macbook, macbook display, macbook paper holder, magnet
Posted in Easy, Hint, Organization | No Comments »
