Arizona School Goes iBook, Using Your 'Book as a WiFi Access Point, LoJack for Laptops, and More

Charles Moore - 2005.08.26

This Week's PowerBook, iBook, and Notebook News

General Apple and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered in iPod News Review. News about Apple's transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is covered in The Macintel Report.

All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

News & Opinion

• Future 'Books Could Reduce Power Used with New Clock Devices
• PowerBook Mania!
• Arizona High School Trades Books for iBooks
• Waiting for a New iBook to Arrive

Advice

• How to Use a PowerBook as a WiFi Access Point
• Apple's New PowerBook Care and Handling Page
• Replacing Your PowerBook's Lost Feet

Reviews

• Does LoJack for Laptops Work?

Products and Services

• Kyocera KPC650 EVDO Card Now Fully Supported on PowerBooks

Software

• One Finger Snap: A Right Mouse Button for One Button Mice

Tech Trends

• Portable Methanol Fuel Cell System with Breakthrough Micro Reformer Technology

Bargain 'Books

News & Opinion

Future 'Books Could Reduce Power Used with New Clock Devices

Macsimum News' Dennis Sellers says:

"There's another technology to keep an eye out for regarding future iBooks and PowerBooks. IDT (Integrated Device Technology), a communications IC company, has introduced new notebook clock devices that purportedly reduce power consumption by up to half that of previous generation products.

"The new low-power PC clock devices support Intel Centrino mobile technology-based laptops, which are built upon the Intel 'Napa' platform and will also support Intel's next-generation computing architecture. Since Macs are moving to Intel chips, it seems likely that future Apple laptops will utilize the IDT technology. And power consumption in portables has been one of the company's biggest concerns."

Link: Future Apple Laptops Could Be Impacted by New Notebook Clock Devices

PowerBook Mania!

A newsbc.ca blog says:

"I've been in love with Apple's PowerBooks for far too long and with school in the not so distant future I'll be getting one lickety split. I've had major PowerBook fever for the past week and a half and have been seeking out what kind of software I can run on it once it arrives. Check out the SpeedoWiki on a regular basis to see what I'm doing on a more daily basis btw, I make many changes a day. On the subject of wiki/powerbook I've started to compile a list of cool resources that I come across along the way. Said list is available here - http://speedo.ca/wiki/index.php/PowerBook"

Link: PowerBook Mania!

Arizona High School Trades Books for iBooks

The position of Associated Press (AP) is that you may not quote more than 5 words from any of its copyrighted articles without paying $12.50 or more for a "quotation license". Rather than pay this fee or risk the wrath of AP, we are removing all AP quotes from the site along with links to those articles.

We regret any inconvenience to our readers, but we will never pay for what is considered Fair Use under copyright law. We consider brief quotations in our news roundups to be Fair Use and a benefit to the site that we quoted from and linked to. (We adhere to the Open Link policy, and our Fair Use policy specifically allows quoting up to 50% or 300 words of our original content, whichever is less.)

Waiting for a New iBook to Arrive

Bill Palmer says:

"My new iBook is currently in Jacksonville, a good two hundred miles from here, and despite the fact that it's 10:00 at night, Amazon somehow still seems to think that it's going to be delivered today. Yeah. I guess it's the price you pay for going after the best price instead of merely walking into an Apple Store and walking out with one. But since I'm not in any hurry, I'll just remind myself that I saved a good $160 by going through Amazon. It's just funny, though, how you can spend the better part of a year carefully planning a purchase, and then once you pull the trigger, you go nuts because you have to wait another three days for it to show up."

Link: Waiting for the New iBook to Show Up

Advice

How to Use a PowerBook as a WiFi Access Point

Make says:

"In Make volume 03 we showed you how to make a "stomp box" - a device that uses a high speed EVDO wireless access card and Wi-Fi to create a mobile wireless access point. But, if you have a Mac PowerBook with PC card slot and a EVDO card you can make the same thing, broadcasting free Wi-Fi for anyone around! Here's how..."

Link: How to Make a PowerBook into a Wi-Fi Access Point

Apple's New PowerBook Care and Handling Page

Topics:

• Carrying Your PowerBook
• Storing Your PowerBook
• Cleaning Your PowerBook
• Cleaning Your PowerBook Display
• Safety Instructions for Setting Up and Using Your Computer
• Plugging In the Power Adapter
• Connecting a Phone Line to the Internal Modem
• Using Your PowerBook
• Avoid Hearing Damage
• Battery
• Connectors and Ports

Link: PowerBook Care and Handling

Replacing Your PowerBook's Lost Feet

the-wabe.com says:

"One of the complaints about the first-generation PowerBook G4 is that the rubber feet easily wear down/tear off leaving the owner with a very hot machine that sits directly on the table. Not good for the table, not good for the machine.

"Since losing the rubber feet on my machine, I've been using the low-tech solution of drink coasters to keep an adequate gap from the surface of my desk. The problem with this solution is that I'd often forget the coasters when traveling, leading to the very real danger of overheating the machine.

"The replacement cost of the feet is $20 for a set of four. That may seem outrageous, but somebody has to pay for Steve Jobs's weekly oatmeal colonic, right?

"Being an engineer, I figured I could do better, and with a little ingenuity I did. Now you can, too."

Link: Replacing Lost PowerBook G4 Feet

Reviews

Does LoJack for Laptops Work?

Forbes' David A. Andelman reports:

"The idea conjured up all sorts of wonderful fantasies. My laptop is stolen. I call an 800-number and before the setting of the next sun, a swat team of heavily armed and armored paramilitary police are breaking down the door of a bandit's den to reclaim my purloined computer.

"At least that's my fantasy. In fact, the reality may not be that far off. Well, maybe not a swat team and maybe there wouldn't be a whole nest of bandits involved, but there is a recently renamed software product that promises pretty much that. Absolute Software's LoJack for Laptops used to be called CompuTrace, and now it's back with a new name and a new identity."

Link: Does LoJack for Laptops Work?

Products and Services

Kyocera KPC650 EVDO Card Now Fully Supported on PowerBooks

[PR] The Mac EVDO Experts at EVDOinfo.com who in the past have shown us how to make every Verizon BroadbandAccess card work on the PowerBook, is now reporting that software is available that allows the Kyocera KPC650 EVDO Card to be fully supported on any PowerBook with a PC Slot. This software is available as a free download. EVDOinfo.com has a full review of the new software that was just released.

Link: Kyocera KPC650 EVDO Card Now Fully Supported on PowerBooks

Software

One Finger Snap: A Right Mouse Button for One Button Mice

[PR] One Finger Snap is a Preference Pane that brings up the contextual menu whenever you click and hold down the mouse button. This means that you can do everything with a single-button mouse that you can do with a 2-button mouse.

Don't throw away that 1-Button Mouse:

Many new Mac buyers find that the first purchase they make is for a 2-button mouse so they can have quick access to the contextual menu. Sure, you can hold down the control key when you click, but let's face it, a two button mouse makes the contextual menu so much easier to get to. Now with One Finger Snap, you can just click and hold down that one button to get to the contextual menu. And that way you can hold onto that beautiful Apple mouse, too.

Great for PowerBook users:

At the office, you have a nice two-button mouse, and you use it every day. Now you take your powerbook on the road, and your right mouse button finger is just twitching. You get things done so much faster with the contextual menu. Don't you wish there was an easy way to get to it from the track pad? One Finger Snap works as well with a one-button track pad as it does with a one-button mouse. So you can click and hold the trackpad button rather than carry along another piece of equipment.

for ex-Windows users:

So you took the plunge and switched to the Mac. Good for you. While you like Mac OS X on your new Mac Mini, you can't help but miss that old 2-button mouse. Don't go back to Windows, just try One Finger Snap. It's much cheaper, and it has fewer viruses.

But I already have a 7-button, wireless mouse with a scroll wheel:

Oh, you ubergeek you. One Finger Snap can still help you. Wouldn't it be nice to have just one more button? Turn on One Finger Snap, and you no longer need that right mouse button for the contextual menu. Now you can reassign it to something more useful (like sshing your web browser, or opening AppKiDo, or reading joyoftech).

What about Apple's new Mighty Mouse?

Apple recently released a new mouse, dubbed "Mighty Mouse", that has up to four buttons and a scroll wheel, depending on how you set it up. We've ordered a Mighty Mouse for testing, and the current wait time is 7-10 days between order and shipping. We're looking forward to running this mouse through its paces.

Still, if you prefer $6.85 to $49.00, or "as quick as a download" to "in seven to ten business days" or "just click and hold my trackpad button" to "another shiny thing to pack in my bag that may get squished", then please consider One Finger Snap as an alternative.

If you decide on a Mighty Mouse, and we can understand why, then One Finger Snap is designed to work with any mouse, including Mighty Mouse, so you can still bring up the contextual menu by clicking and holding, giving you one more button on your brand new mouse.

System Requirements:

• One Finger Snap will work on Mac OS X 10.3 Panther or 10.4 Tiger.

What's new with One finger snap 1.2

• One Finger Snap is now smarter about when it will initiate a right-click. It will no longer try to initiate a right-click over the Dock, over a scroll bar, or over a menu item, for instance.
• If you find that it is still trying to right-click at these times, then you should turn on "Access for Assistive Devices" in the Universal Access preference pane.
• Changed the name that appears in the Preference Pane to "1 Finger Snap", to make it a little shorter so it will fit better in the Preference Pane.
• Made One Finger Snap easier to use with third-party mice that don't use custom drivers.
• Added drag-select then hold - drag-select a block of text, then keep the mouse button held down and a contextual menu will appear with options for the text you just selected.

One Finger Snap will regularly display a window asking you to register it until you have purchased a license.

A single user license costs $6.85.

Link: One Finger Snap

Tech Trends

Portable Methanol Fuel Cell System with Breakthrough Micro Reformer Technology

[PR] UltraCell Corporation has announced a new fuel cell power source for portable electronic devices that has twice the energy density of lithium batteries. UltraCell's reformed methanol fuel cell (RMFC) technology uses a revolutionary micro reformer to generate fuel-cell-ready hydrogen from a highly concentrated methanol solution. This new portable power system has the power density of a hydrogen fuel cell but uses readily available, low cost methanol fuel in a convenient, compact package. Weighing just 40 ounces, the power unit is about the size of a paperback novel.

This new technology has already been developed by UltraCell as a prototype for the military. This original system, the XX90, was designed for up to 45 watts of continuous power. Subsequently, the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) awarded UltraCell a contract to accelerate its development of a more compact portable system to run at 25 watts. This new power source is being developed for commercial use as the UltraCell25™ and will be available in 2006 for professional, industrial and mobile computing applications. Its name for the military will be the XX25.

UltraCell's micro reformer technology is designed to work in a user-friendly package that, with the push of a power button, self starts and feeds power as needed. The system's spent fuel canisters can be instantly "hot swapped," as needed, to provide continuous power in any remote situation. Whether for a soldier on mission or for the on-the-go laptop user, mobile executive, emergency first responder, researcher in a remote location, industrial video maker, or remote electronic monitoring, this means a nonstop supply of power anywhere, anytime. For greater flexibility, the system can even support batteries by serving as a portable recharging power supply.

The complete UltraCell system includes fuel processor, fuel cell stack, control system, balance of plant and easily replaceable fuel cartridge. Based on proprietary control algorithms, the control system manages a steady flow of power by adjusting pump and compressor settings. The revolutionary micro fuel cell generates no excess water, and consequently does not need a water management system, saving size, weight and cost versus alternative micro fuel cell systems. In addition, the UltraCell system uses a high temperature membrane assembly (MEA) from Pemeas in its fuel cell stack, resulting in high tolerance to CO and impurities.

"The major advantages of our system are the result of key advances by UltraCell and partners, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Pemeas and others, yielding a breakthrough in fuel reformer technology," said Jim Kaschmitter, CEO of UltraCell. "UltraCell's novel fuel reformer converts methanol fuel to hydrogen efficiently and in a very compact package. Our technical team solved several key engineering challenges in thermal design and packaging to achieve this breakthrough. Our system provides a significant performance advantage over competing fuel cell and battery solutions for portable power users."

Founded in 2002, UltraCell develops and manufactures complete micro fuel cell systems for portable devices. The company has developed new technologies and intellectual property in the field of methanol-based fuel cells. The company has an exclusive license with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories for micro fuel cell technology based upon reforming methanol into hydrogen "reformate" using proprietary technology in the fuel reformer and hydrogen fuel cell stack. For more information, please contact: UltraCell Corporation, 230-A South Vasco Road, Livermore, CA. 94551; Tel.: (925) 455-9400 ; Fax: (925) 455-7750.

Link: UltraCell Corporation

Bargain 'Books

Bargain 'Books are used unless otherwise indicated. New and refurbished units have a one-year Apple warranty and are eligible for AppleCare.

There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233 MHz, the cacheless MainStreet version and the later Series II with a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from the vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included links within this paragraph to the two models. The same goes for the PowerBook G4/667 (VGA) and G4/667 (DVI), the titanium vs. aluminum 15" PowerBook G4 at 1 GHz, and 1.25 GHz to 1.5 GHz 15" PowerBooks.

• PowerBook Pismo G3/400, 192/10/DVD, $399
• PowerBook Pismo G3/500, 256/12/DVD, $449
• 15" PowerBook G4/500, 256/20/DVD, $599
• 12" PowerBook G4/867, 512/40/Combo, $819

• PowerBook 1400cs, 16/775 MB, new battery, $99.99

Special Deals: Apple Certified

• refurb 12" PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256MB/ 60GB/ SuperDrive, AirPort Extreme, $1,299
• refurb 15" PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256MB/ 60GB/ Combo, AirPort Extreme Card, $1,499
• refurb 17" PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, /512MB /100/SuperDrive, AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0, $2,299

• 12" iBook G3/700, 256/20/Combo, $549.99

• 14" iBook G3/800, 256/30/Combo, PC133 SO DIMM 512MB, Kensington Saddlebag (brown),Small Dog Coozie, $809

For more deals on current or recently discontinued models, see our Best PowerBook G4 Deals, Best iBook G4 Deals, Best PowerBook G3 Deals, and Best iBook G3 Deals.