Be Excellent To Each Other

I'm having trouble with the buttons on one of my websites, and I'm having no problems with my test Mac.
Anyone bored enough to help? It'll just be a case of clicking a link and saying 'yes, I can click on the buttons', or 'No, I can't'.

Of course, if you can tell me *why* you can't click on the buttons, that would be great too.

I charge 500 dorrar an howar.

That's right, rub it in.

[goes back to Apple Store tracking page and keeps clicking refresh every 5 seconds]

I run 10.4.11 - send me the link.

10.5.3 here, but I'll help if I can

I run that but I won't be home for a couple of hours. Still, send it if you didn't reproduce it by then.

I'm not a Maccy but I'm very good at figuring out why things aren't working, send me the link and I'll see if there's anything immediately obviously wrong with the buttons.

I can't believe this problem's been on the board for five hours and Craig Grannell hasn't solved it yet. He must be out for the day...

On Mac related news, does anyone know if the Mac Pro has any way to secure it with a security cable?

My Dells all have a loop on them that allows you to chain the things down. Given todays events over the road, given the cost of the thing I'd like to chain my new unit down.

My MacBook certainly has, and this article would imply the Pro does too...

Yeah, the manual (which I downloaded last night) says it has a metal loop at the back which looked like the one my Dells have. It doubles as a security loop and also stops people opening the box up to steal my precious precious memory.

Deal Extreme had a cheap cable but alas they are out of stock (and knowing them it will be months before they get stock again) so I had to spend 7 quid at Maplin instead which looks like it might do the trick. Still cheaper than Ebuyer et al who wanted 25 quid or the special Mac cable I saw that was 60 quid.

That article is about a macbook pro.

Chinny is getting an actual Mac Pro I believe.

I would be shocked if the Mac Pro didn't have a Kensington loop slot on it somewhere, although I don't have access to one to check. I'm sure my G4 Powermac has one.

It's here. Aeeeiiiiiii! [runs round the room like a toddler who has had too many E numbers]

I can't bring myself to open the box.

I sell you a box for £2k next time, if you want.

Typical The rich get richer.

You want me to lend you some money for a 'full stop' key?

Did you fix your web buttons yet Grim...?

ZING! Nicely played sir.

Opened it. Had a play, back on the old box for now.

It's not the mouse I hate so much as that shitty wireless keyboard. Jeeez Apple making Sinclair look like a bunch of keyboard design geniuses there. It's worse than a laptop and has no numeric keypad which makes it double shit frankly.

I'll have a further play later. It's all abit fiddly but I'm sure I'll get used to it

Presumably I need a special keyboard since the Apple has special keys.

Standard keyboards will work, but you might have to do some fiddling with the keyboard prefs to make the special keys work.

Love the Mac computers, but the thin new keyboards are horrible and their mice have always been abominations.

The mouse isn't the worst I've used but isn't the best either. I do like Microsoft mice, and I also know what I like when it comes to keyboards. I'm prepared to the give the mouse a go, but that keyboard is a crime against humanity frankly. Looks great but is wank.

You'll end up hating the mouse. Trust me.

i run 10.4.11
so if i need to test anything,just ring

Logitech keyboard and Microsoft mouse ordered just in case. I need the old system up and running so nicking this keyboard and mouse isn't an option.

Likewise the Linux box, still need that for now. Thought about a KVM but decent ones are more expensive and it's not forever.

If this is being a little Mac Thread (do we have a general one?) could I just recommend TextExpander?

It's fecking awesome. You basically set up keywords and whenever you type then (in non-X11 apps) it substitutes in one you mean.

For instance if I type "ttime" it magically substitutes "2:32 PM"

ddate -> Wednesday; June 11, 2008

So for Latex or Coding it is awesome.
Href -> <a href=" > </a>
HCO+ -> HCO$^+$ (3--2)
And as I time stamp the changes I make to our "Big Code" having

"lddate"

immediately type

"Lave Station modified on: Wednesday; June 11, 2008; 2:34 PM"

is like the best thing ever. It's technically a demo I think - but I haven't paid and it's only nagged me once, when changing the settings.

Also The WoS forum stance was that the new keyboard is awesome I would hate to think it's changed.

I have the USB version (with numpad) and it's the best keyboard I've ever had.

I think we've got the problem sorted now - thanks all.

I've used various keyboards since 1985 and I'm not mad keen on this one. I might get used to it but it's rather like typing on a 48k Spectrum without the rubber keys.

Will the mac support the standard keyboard + a usb keyboard at the same time? I could see this wireless being of use for some things but a pain in the arse for other things. So I'd use the wired for standard, but could revert to this wireless if I feel like sitting back.

Ah well, if I get used to it I can stash the new ones in the cupboard, However I suspect I'll miss the numeric keyboard too much. The CPC had one and I'm rather used to it.

I do like the wheel on the mouse. Bet it breaks in 5 minutes though. The DPI is shit and that's the thing really bugging me.

It's OK but does tend to wear out the end of your finger if you actually use it very much. It also requires dismantling and cleaning every few months, I found. I therefore also found that the mouse is *glued* together! This is inexcusable and left me furiously angry[tm].

The "squeeze the sides" button is also somewhat stupid and I ended up switching it off to avoid activating it accidentally.

...that you ordered. The wired keyboard is lovely.

You all have weird keyboard tastes. The one true keyboard. I had one of these in work, after numerous complaints about the noise Technical Services "lost" it during a desk move and office refurb one weekend. I am convinced they were slipped a few quid by someone I sat near to get rid of the thing.

I was going to link to Das Keyboard which looks the same (but blank!) but used to use horrible leaf switches -- but now I find it using mechanical switches in their new design. Man, now I think I want one; it specifically mentions the Model M as a comparison. Wonder if I could get it signed off on expenses...

Oh, and a Mac keyboard with good switching can be found here.

*Adjusts black turtle neck*

You confuse me. That keyboard has buckling spring mechanical switches, same as the Model M, and hence cannot really be compared to anything Apple have shipped in the last fifteen years.

People who prefer laptop style 'boards are weird.

Join the club.

Indeed, Unisys are keeping the dream alive.

I was tempted, but I do like the perspex dust-tray Mac keyboard I currently use.

I just want everyone to know I'm swearing at the Mac more than I swear at my PC. And the "M" key is the "W" key upside down. Cheapskates.

And the @ is in the wrong place despite me having a UK keyboard. And Final Cut Studio is taking longer to install than loading a C64 game from disk (1.5 hours and counting).

I'll grow to love it. Or at least grow to use it. This is rather like when I had to transition from the Amiga to PC. Although I never stopped swearing at Windows.

And another thing, who do I write to complain about the network icon for Windows PC's (readies green biro).

Have you actually used the thin wired Apple keyboard?

I used to be a Model M man myself, and indeed I still have four of them in my flat. But I tried the Apple keyboard and immediately knew I had to switch. Despite it not being buckling spring, it's far, far nicer to type on than the Model M.

It's different to laptop keyboards too, I hate all laptop keyboards as they're springy and just generally shite. The Apple flat keyboard has the tactile feedback of the Model M with the benefits of laptop keyboards (smaller and less noisy).

Only in PC World to hammer out "Hello world" into a text editor. I was unimpressed at the time but based on your comments I will sally forth and revisit sometime to re-assess.

Yeah, that's not enough time. Because of the flatter typing angle, it immediately feels too strange to really like, but once you're used to it it's far more natural.

If you can swing it, try and borrow one for a day or so from a friend.

The only problem I've found with them is that the Caps Lock keys on them tend to be a bit "hit and miss", sometimes when you press it it doesn't activate. You've gotta give it a pretty hard hit to be guaranteed of switching it on.

Hmm, OK. If I am ever in an opportunity I will borrow one then.

I've read about this -- don't you have to double tap it? To avoid accidental keypresses. Some people on a forum where complaining because they like to remap CapsLock to Control and the double tap is done in hardware, meaning you can't use it as Control.

Really? Like the Restore key on the C64? You had to give it a fair bash to actually do a reset.

Can this insanity be stopped? I downloaded "doublecommand" which does some cool things but doesn't remap normal keys etc which is annoying.

No, I think it's just poor quality control on the keys. I've just tried double-tapping mine and it didn't switch on. Conversely, a single hard hit on the key will activate that little green light.

Although, bizarrely, it works every time when I tap it with my pinky finger, but only about 33% of the time if I use one of the others. Weird.

Fairly bizarre to give away the wireless keyboard with the Mac Pro - I know it's their way of saying "You bought expensive thing, so you get expensive option!", but Mac Pro users strike me as the most likely to A) need the num-pad and B) need the USB hub built into the wired model.

Personally, I love the new Apple KBs - I find them extremely comfortable for typing on, very quick, and with no lack of audio/tactile feedback despite the low key travel. Also, they stay clean - the old Apple Pro keyboards were awful in this respect (as well as most others). The single best thing about them though is that they don't seem to set off my wife's previously-career-threatening RSI - the easy press and low key travel, combined with the flatter angle, seem to let her work with impunity*.

I even prefer the key layout - as a non-coder, I don't need to use # very often, so that's no big whoop (although I had trouble joining an IRC chat when I first got a Mac - I had to cut and paste one from a webpage). But it flat out makes sense to have " one shift away from ', and having `/~ next to Z is great for switching between different windows of one app (Cmd+`, for those that don't know). Also, the Cmd key is simply in a better place for shortcut chording than the Windows key/Ctrl.

I would say don't fight it - cancel the Logitech keyboard, buy an Apple Wired, then sell the Wireless one on Ebay (with the mouse) for a fat profit. Using a Windows keyboard on a Mac would be a bit weird, and wouldn't aid the adaption process. I'm also slightly wary of Logitech stuff on the Mac, as their drivers are grim intrusive things that install haxies on the sly, leading to much pain when people tried to upgrade to Leopard.

By all means, replace the godawful Apple mouse ASAP, though. Apple are superb at laptop trackpads (especially since they hoovered up Touchworks and all their Multi-Touch patents), but can't design a mouse for toffee.

* Interestingly, while the keyboard of her Macbook looks identical, the key travel is that bit longer and less firm - it's not as bad as conventional keyboards, but not ideal. I've actually ended up buying her the new wireless keyboard for writing up her thesis.

I think this too. It should be a free choice.

I agree but when using a PC keyboard, Alt becomes Cmd though, so that doesn't change. I quite often, on PC keyboards, remap Caps Lock to be an extra Ctrl key anyway, which is where it is on Sun keyboards.

I give counter advice, get a PC board and use that. Adjusting to where @ and " etc are is a pain in the arse. So go with your years of muscle memory, by a good quality PC board, and don't adjust... and you won't have to adjust back if you switch to a PC again.

I can talk from experience. For three years, I did all my computing (my PhD in fact) on an iBook; 50% of the time as a laptop, 50% of the time docked to a desk with a PC keyboard (mostly my beloved Model M). Hence the position of those keys changed depending on where I was typing! And as I was coding heavily, I got a lot of use out of those keys too. I eventually adjusted to it but it was very painful.

He's right on this, so just don't installed the Logitech software. I don't bother with that on Windows PCs either. Or bloody Intellitype either.