Part 3: Make the battery last.

Battery technology has come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go. When your Macbook is new, its battery life is great and all is well in the universe. But the honeymoon doesn’t last. Used batteries hold their charge for less and less time and they can be expensive to replace, especially for Mac users.

A battery is only good for so many cycles, one cycle representing a battery going from completely charged to completely depleted and then completely charged again. If you run your battery down to 50 percent and recharge it, that’s a half cycle. If you have a white or black Macbook, the battery is only good for a couple of hundred cycles and they add up quickly. A new aluminum Macbook Pro has a new/improved battery which will supposedly be good for several times the life of the older battery types, which is a good thing because they’ll be more difficult and more expensive to replace. Let’s start with an all-too common myth.

Myth: you should always run down a battery all the way before recharging it.

I’m often surprised by how many people work under this assumption. This belief is a throwback to a truth from the days of nickel-cadmium batteries, but no longer relevant in the world of Lithium Ion batteries like those found in Macbooks. In fact, Lithium Ion batteries “like” to be charged and will last longer if you don’t let them fall below 50% too regularly.

However, there are reasons to let your battery deplete all the way once in a while: if you let your computer run until it completely runs out of juice and goes into “deep sleep”, then you are effectively resetting or recalibrating the battery life meter. Or if you’re a laptop user who most of the time happens to use the laptop plugged-in at a desktop, Apple suggests that you run the Macbook on battery once per month in order to cycle the battery.

Did you know that you can check how many times your battery has been cycled? Open up the System Profiler (Macintosh HD->Applications->Utilities) and click on Power in the column on the left. You should find the Cycle Count along with other details.

Part 2: How to safely clean a Macbook or desktop LCD screen.

OK, now that we have the safety tips out of the way, let’s talk about the most common question I hear: how do I safely clean the screen? Well if you’re like me, the worst thing to ever happen to the screen should be a little dust. That’s because I don’t touch the screen, I don’t sneeze on the screen, I don’t open fizzy drinks near the screen, and I don’t touch the screen (repeated for emphasis).

Yet even my screens get the occasional splotch, mostly due to my nemeses: screen-touchers. You know who I’m talking about. Screen-touchers are that reprehensible sort who feel they can’t point to something on a display without actually pressing their greasy fingers against the optical-grade plastic or glass, sometimes with enough force to cause a little rainbow-spehere of liquid crystal distortion. Every once in a while one of them smudges up my Macbook screen or desktop LCD before I get a chance to politely intervene (simultaneously quelling my desire to non-surgically remove the offending digit).

I digress. Every LCD will eventually get some kind of mark or smear on it, so let’s talk cleaning. Matte screens are especially delicate and glossy/glass screens smudge easily, so either way cleaning effectively is a challenge. I’ve never found a great pre-pagacked solution. Most of them are of questionable quality or tend to leave lots of smudgy badness behind. So let’s start with some dos and don’ts.

• Don’t use household cleaners.
• Don’t use paper products – tissues, paper towels, napkins, lens wipes – as they can scratch your screen.
• Don’t use much force. It there’s something on your screen that could scratch it, you don’t want to press it into your screen while you wipe. Also, LCDs – especially matte ones – are fragile and don’t like much pressure.
• Do start with a dry microfiber cloth. Softly use this cloth to get rid of dust and any potentially scratchy debris.
• Do unplug your computer and remove the battery before using anything which could get moisture into the system.
• Don’t spray anything directly onto the screen. This gives liquid a chance to get into sensitive areas where it can cause damage. If you’re going to use a liquid, then spray it on the cloth.
• Don’t use tap water because it contains lots minerals which can leave residue on your screen.
• Do use distilled water, as it will not leave its own residue.

Here’s my standard procedure:

1. Start with a dry microfiber ultra-soft cloth and very gently remove any dust and particulates.
2. Next slightly moisten a clean microfiber cloth with distilled water and gently attempt to wipe away stuck on debris.
3. For oil-based stains (fingerprints) or other more persistent stains, you may need to use something stronger. I find that a 50% (or less) solution of isopropyl alcohol is pretty safe and effective. Use distilled water in equal parts to isopropyl alcohol to make your own solution. This is not something you should do commonly on plastic screens, as repeated contact with alcohol can discolor plastic. However, using this weak alcohol solution on occasion to get rid of stubborn spots shouldn’t be problematic.
4. Optional: go smack the scamp who touched your screen.

You can also use the 50/50 solution to clean your keyboard on your Macbook. Again, unplug the Macbook and remove the battery, make the cloth moist (not wet) and gently wipe down the keyboard. White Macbook keyboards are dirt magnets. Avoid using your keyboard/trackpad immediately after putting on hand lotion, as the white plastic readily soaks up oils and discolors quickly. In fact, avoid using lotion altogether, allowing your hands to naturally mummify while your Macbook stays clean and neat. Actually, you should avoid using your Macbook altogether, encase it in glass, and protect it from dust and sunlight. Don’t touch it. Don’t even look at it. I’ve got to go wash my hands…

Apple’s Magic Mouse has been on the market for just a few months now and while many users are very pleased with its functionality, the magic has been short-lived in one area: battery life.

When Apple annouced the Magic Mouse in late October of 2009, they claimed that it would have an impressive 4-month battery life. So needless to say I was surprised when my Magic Mouse’s batteries died after about a month of use. A quick search of some forums and it quickly became apparent that this was not an exception, but rather the norm. When it comes to battery life, a couple of AA alkalines will get you little more than a month of moderate-to-heavy use. Apple’s 4-month claim was either extremely optimistic or based upon a very low-use scenario.

I should mention that the Magic Mouse has been a pleasure for me to use in every way and is in many ways a fantastic evolution in this input technology, so I’d still recommend it for anyone with a Mac with bluetooth and 10.5.8 or higher. Just while you’re at it, get some high-quality rechargeable batteries to go with it. The buzz on these ones has been quite good.

Each time it dumps snow in Colorado (October?!) I find a certain request coming up more and more often… companies want remote access to their server so people can work from home. Can’t make it to school? Well the teacher can email you assignments. Can’t make it into work? A little SFTP magic and you’re working on that file from home.

While this is no doubt good for business productivity and similar technologies save me a lot of trips to clients, it seems the concept of the carefree snow day is a victim of improving technologies. Tunnel into work via the internet? The only tunneling you should be doing today is in real snow, not Snow Leopard!

So in the spirit of sledding and snow angels, I present to you an excuse which just might get you off the hook and into the cold powder and hot cocoa…

“Um, my internet is out. Comcast said something about the storm taking down my local node and they’re working on it.”

Did it work? OK, now get the sled dogs ready and for the love of consistency, don’t post to Facebook!

The Quick and Dirty: Some Snow Leopard users have reported losing their user data when logging into the Guest account on their system and then logging back into their own user accounts.

Who is affected: Apparently those who had a Guest account enabled in 10.5 and then upgraded their systems to 10.6 are potentially vulnerable.

How to avoid: Supposedly if you disable your Guest account and then reenable it, the bug gets ironed out as your system makes a new Guest account in 10.6. That said, it might be wise to simply turn off the Guest account and not use it until Apple releases a fix.

How to fix: If you’ve fallen victim, then you should look at the fix posted by Cnet.

Moral to the story: As I mentioned in a previous article, we early OS adopters are basically glorified beta testers. I’m always beating people over the head with the B word (backup) and early adopters especially have no excuses not to have their data well backed up.

Occasionally I’ll get questions from users about how to safely clean a Macbook. Others want to know how to get the most life from their battery. And so I present part one of a few observations and tips to keep your Macbook looking unsoiled and performing like a champ.

Part 1: Don’t pull the Magsafe adapter by its neck.

Let’s start with safety first. You know that innovative Magsafe power adapter which enthusiastically snaps into place on your Macbook with a satisfying click, yet comes off easily enough that you don’t hose your Macbook when you trip over the chord? Well they’re not invincible and this is a case where an ounce of prevention can save you copious pounds of cure. Prevention tip: when you remove the Magsafe adapter from your Macbook, grab it by the head, not the neck (chord).

It seems that when people repeatedly pull this adapted by its neck, the chord itself stretches and weakens in that area. Over time, this could lead to a broken adapter requiring an expensive replacement… if you’re lucky. In the worst cases, the frayed connectors can actually sizzle and catch fire! It’s all very avoidable by simply developing one good habit (grab it by the head always).

Coming soon, part deux: Cleaning your Macbook

Lots of people are having trouble getting the Lide 80 to work in 10.6 “Snow Leopard”. Well I was able to recreate the issue (application runs, but unexpectedly quits the second you try to perform a scan) and come up with a fix. Instructions:

1. Be sure you have installed Rosetta. It is an option when installing 10.6 Snow Leopard. It is not installed by default, so you will need to customize your install.
2. Be sure you have the latest version of the LIDE80_7275MXEN.dmg file. Even though it is the same old version number, Canon seems to have updated the installed to make it work in 10.5 and up.
3. Run the installer.
4. The problem is that the installer misses one item during the installation. Re-open the LIDE80_7275MXEN.dmg image. Inside you will see a folder titled “Into Users_Shared”. Inside that you will find a folder called CanoScanLIDE80. Copy this folder into Users->Shared on your hard drive.
5. If you’re using Photoshop, look in the disk image for a folder called “Into Plug-In” and copy its contents to Applications->Adobe Photoshop->Plug-Ins->Import/Export. You must run Photoshop in Rosetta in order for the plugin to work. To do so, go to the Photoshop app and click once on it to select it. Then press Command-i to bring up the Get Info window. Click the box which says Open Using Rosetta.
6. Restart your computer.
7. You’re done. Hope this works for you… please let me know!

Snow Leopard users who check Software Update will find that Apple has already released 10.6.1, just two weeks after the release of the operating system.

From Apple:

• compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems
• an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly
• some printer compatibility drivers not appearing properly in the add printer browser
• an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock
• instances where automatic account setup in Mail might not work
• an issue where pressing cmd-opt-t in Mail brings up the special characters menu instead of moving a message
• Motion 4 becoming unresponsive

As I mentioned in a previous post, my Lide 80 scanner has been working fine in Snow Leopard, despite the fact that it hasn’t been officially support since 10.4. Well this seems to have generated some interest from frustrated Lide 80 users, so I thought I’d give a few tips:

• Be certain to download the most recent versions of the drivers/software from Canon’s site. Despite the fact that version numbers haven’t changed in years, it does appear that Canon has updated the files themselves.
• If the software installer is problematic, you might try logging in as the root user in order to install the software.
• You’re going to need Rosetta installed. The 10.6 installer doesn’t install this by default, but you can install it after-the-fact from the installer disk. This will allow the older CanoScan software and drivers to function in 10.6.

I am able to scan both through the Photoshop plug-in and with the CanoScan software. To scan through Photoshop, you must open the application with Rosetta. To do this, find the application and select it, click command-i for Get Info, and check the box to open it in Rosetta.

Hopefully this will help you get some more life out of your Lide 80. If you found this helpful or have any questions, please feel free to use the comments section by clicking the number to the left of this post.

Update: The game subcategories have reappeared, now underneath the right column. Still no subcategories under some of the other genres, but perhaps this is a sign that those are coming.

Along with the shiny (and slightly buggy) new version of iTunes release on Wednesday, Apple updated their iTunes store. With the tens of thousands of apps available, App Store users have been pining for better tools with which to navigate, sort, and explore the myriad of offerings. So naturally expectations were high for the new iTunes 9 combined with the new iTunes store.

Sadly, not only have expectations not been met thus far, but many users have found the new interface to be a significant step backwards when it comes to browsing apps. This author would argue that the only thing the new format improves is Apple’s ability to spotlight apps of their choosing, while presenting major obstacles for users to navigate on their own.

In the old App store, you might click on Games, the fastest growing category in the App Store. You would then be brought to a page which spotlighted a bunch of apps and more importantly, gave you a bunch of subcategories to help you browse. You could limit your browsing to categories you enjoyed, like Strategy, Puzzle, Action, Word, RPG, etc. Now instead you just get 661 pages of apps with very few sorting options. Also gone is the useful ability to sort by customer rating.

You might notice a Browse option hidden in small text at the bottom of the App Store home page. This takes you to a text-based list with hardly any sorting options. Want to browse the medical apps? Well no subcategories there. Just 1,361 apps on one page without even icons to catch your eye. Just the names of apps, prices, and developers to go by. And while you can add sort options like Ratings in the View Options, they don’t seem to work. Click on Games and you do get subcategories here, but with 4,708 Puzzle games alone, you’ve got little to work with other than the massive list of app titles.

While a few bugs (like the occasional unexpected quit in iTunes 9) are par for the course, these larger issue make the launch of the new iTunes feel premature. As the App Store grows quickly and shows few signs of slowing down, good apps are getting lost in the massive shuffle and Apple should know that we need better tools to sort through all of the noise. I’ve made my noise about it and you could let Apple know that you want the same through their feedback options, listed below.

iTunes Feedback

Apple Feedback Page

Of course, it’s not all gloom and doom. As I mentioned previously, the added ability to organize your current apps through iTunes is a welcome addition and the iTunes LP functionality shows lots of promise. With some bug fixes, I’m certain the Apple will get the new iTunes at least up to par with the old iTunes where app browsing is concerned. But as the App Store multiplies, will par still be good enough?