Blog Action Day

Our First MacBook Mod

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When we got our Time Capsule PolyVector and I began a search for Mac compatible USB dongles that would give his MacBook the ability to connect to an N wifi network. PolyVector has a first gen MacBook, meaning it was released before Apple decided to put N AirPort Extreme cards in all their Macs. Unfortunately Apple doesn’t provide an upgrade kit for the MacBooks nor is there an inexpensive USB dongle out there that supports connecting to an N wifi network on the 5Ghz band. So we took matters into our own hands.

I happened to come across quite a few people who were proud owners of the new AirPort Extreme Base Stations that supported N but happened to have first gen MacBooks. The most common work around for getting their MacBooks to support the new N technology was to simply mod it using an Apple AirPort upgrade kit for a Mac Pro (Pre-2008). PolyVector and I decided we would go ahead with this method and see if it would work for us.

The first thing you have to do is make sure you obtain the right part. You must get a Mac Pro upgrade kit with the part number MA688Z/A or MA688Z/B (which is what we used). You can find this part all around the web, but Amazon happened to be selling one from J&R and for $50USD (compared to the up to $300USD for a compatible USB dongle), it wasn’t that bad a price.

The next step of course would be putting the new AirPort card in your MacBook. Thanks to a tutorial from Hardmac we got through the entire disassembly of the MacBook and getting the chip installed with no problem. PolyVector is now enjoying being wireless once again.

Our first MacBook Mod was extremely successful. Phew!

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Macworld ‘08 Highlights

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Wow, the keynote has already come and gone and with it has brought some pretty nice updates and new gadgets from Apple. I am gonna go over the highlights and what I personaly think. Since I wasn’t able to attend I am going by the current live blogging that was done by TUAW. Lets get started shall we?

1. Time Capsule - Apple’s new NAS (Network Attached Storage) which is a full Airport Extreme Base Station (router) and internal storage of 500GB to 1TB of space to use with Time Machine in Leopard. I am actually pretty excited about this. PolyVector and I have been looking for a TB solution and they easily get up into the $400-$500 range. With Time Capsule this also would remedy our need for a new N router as well. I think this will be something we’ll be getting after the move.

2. iPhone and iPod Touch Updates - The iPhone’s SDK will be available in late Feb. which will bring official no-need-for-jailbreak 3rd party applications. The iPhone’s Home screen can now to customized with new shortcuts using WebClips for Safari. Google Maps now has triangulation using Skyhook Wireless and cell towers. This could be a very useful feature when trying to find new places around town. Chapter navigation, and subtitles have been added to the iPhone’s video playback. As for the iPod Touch, for a $20 upgrade (free with new iPod Touches) you get Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes, and Weather. Maps will include the new triangulation.

3. iTunes Movie Rentals - You can now rent new releases and library movies in standard and HD through the iTunes Store. New releases will be $3.99 and $2.99 for older. You will have 30 days to start watching and 24 hours to finish.

4. Apple TV - While the rumors of a Blu-ray or HD-DVD drive were false (was kind of hoping for that one) the Apple TV now has the ability to connect to the iTunes Store and download and rent movies without the need to sync to a Mac or PC. That’s kind of spiffy. Flickr and .Mac support has also been added.

And lastly, the BIG announcement!

5. MacBook Air - Now this is a cool little notebook. It is a 13.3″ widescreen MacBook that is only 3lbs. and 0.16-0.76″. I could go on with the stats, but really, just go check out the page. It is super sleek and definitely an awesome idea for people who need to be a little more portable than even the MacBook can provide. The only downside to this for PolyVector and myself is it uses the same video as the current MacBooks and at a $1799 starting price our real upgrading needs comes to graphics.

The keynote video is not up just yet, but I’ll post it as soon as I can snatch a link.

Update: The Macworld 2008 Keynote has been posted. Enjoy! In addition to the stream you can download the keynote via iTunes as a podcast.

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Clamshell Mode

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For quite awhile now people have been using special programs to allow the use of their Mac portables to operate with the lid closed. This is of course useful when having a secondary display hooked up and not wanting to use the smaller laptop display as well. With the (hopefully) new Mac announcements today and the (hopefully) purchase of my new iMac, Polyvector and I have been playing with the idea of also getting him a new Cinema Display for his current setup. Well, PolyVector found out today that quite a few of the Apple notebooks support a “Clamshell” mode that does allow the lid to be closed without putting the computer to sleep. Here are the simple steps: How to use your PowerBook G4, MacBook Pro or MacBook with the display closed
1. Make sure the computer is plugged in to an outlet using the AC power adapter. 2. Connect a USB keyboard and mouse to your computer. 3. Connect the Apple video (VGA or DVI) adapter that came with your computer to the appropriate port on the external display or projector and turn the display or projector on. 4. With the computer turned on and your keyboard or mouse connected, connect the other end of the adapter to the video output port on your MacBook Pro or PowerBook G4. 5. Once your computer’s Desktop appears on the external display, close the computer’s lid. 6. Once the lid is closed, wake the computer up by either clicking your mouse button or by pressing a key on your keyboard.
Just thought I would share with those who were also interested in doing this and/or were looking into those applications that do the same thing. Enjoy!

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The Keys Are Falling

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As I was kicking back chatting on IRC PolyVector out of no where give off this disturbed “wow.” I walk over to him to see that the “K” key from his MacBook keyboad was sitting in his hand. Bah, just what needed to happen…anywho, apparently this is such a common thing there are quite a few places that sell MacBook key replacements and mechanisms. So I jumped right to it and ordered up a new scissor key mechanism for the “K” keycap, in fact I ordered two just in case another key was to have the same thing happen. And let me tell you wasn’t to happy to see the $20 price tag…the mechanisms are these small little plastic things. Oh well, at least it is something fixable. The key is reattached for now, just a little wobbly.

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