Two Ways to Avoid the Trash Ducking Out of the
Way
From
Ian Orchard
G'day Charles,
Agreed, the Dock Trash basket is a pain, but I never use it
anyway. I select the item(s) for trashing and hit Cmd-Delete.
Keep in touch....
Ian Orchard
Hi Ian,
Actually, while I have long used Select-Cmd-Delete
as my standard Trashing mode since OS 9 days, more recently
with OS X I've just been hitting the right mouse button and
using the contextual menu.
Charles
Re: Trash Ducking Out of the Way?
From Ian Orchard
Charles W. Moore wrote:
"Actually, while I have long used Select-Cmd-Delete as my
standard Trashing mode since OS 9 days, more recently with
OS X I've just been hitting the right mouse button and using
the contextual menu."
Aha!! Veeeery Dangerous. Any mouse that is configured so
the right button calls the context menu is a time bomb waiting to
blow your right arm off!
Bare your right arm, rest your hand on the mouse, and waggle
your index finger. You will see concurrent muscle activity right up
to your shoulder. If you hold your index finger over the left
button for the majority of your mouse clicks, you need to keep it
under very slight tension to avoid inadvertent mouse clicks. This
persistent tension is (IMHO & experience) a major cause of
RSI/OOS and is one of Microsoft's worst crimes against
humanity.
My mouse (an A4Tech wireless 2 button + scrollwheel) is
configured with USB Overdrive to have Right button = normal click,
Left button = Cmd-click (for open link in new Tab) and Scroll click
= Control-click (context menus). The normal position for my index
finger is on the table* beside the mouse, only flicking up slightly
or up & over when required. No resting tension. Combined with
exploiting keyboard commands whenever possible, I have stifled a
growing problem with crippling arm pain.
Yes I do have a few hiccups when using someone else's mouse, but
that's their problem. I don't lie awake at night with my arm in
agony.
Ian Orchard
*strictly speaking it's resting on my middle finger. It's only
on the table when using the very small mouse that accompanies my
iBook.
Hi Ian,
Thank for the warning. Actually, I am highly
cognizant of RSI issues. I am afflicted with fibromyalgia,
neuralgia, and myofacial pain syndrome. I use a foot mouse for most
clicking. The hand mice that I use most, a Quill Mouse (honking
big), a Contour Perfit optical (also very big), and a Mac Mice
mouse, all have a very comfortable action to the right button,
falling under the big finger or the ring finger.
Charles
Screen Orientation
From M.D.
I can agree that it depends on one's needs - there are
definitely times when I'm working with a long HTML/PHP document and
wish I could just get a better overview of the thing. Portrait
orientation would be good, and I suspect Russell had similar
situations. On the other hand, if Apple's priority is defining
itself as the "digital hub" company, it makes sense they would
choose an orientation that lends itself easily to widescreen movie
formatting.
Mac OS X's not perfect, but I wish people would really consider
the validity of their complaints in the context of average work
habits. It's taking the Mac out of context that's given it the most
bad press, anyway, I think.
Hi M.D.
Well taken points all.
Thanks.
Charles
iPod Updater Renders CD Burner Unusable
From David L. Duff
Hi Charles,
Has anyone else had a problem after downloading the 9-23-2005
iPod updater? Specifically where their CD burner is rendered
unusable in OS X and iTunes 5.0.1? And how do I undo it?
I had accepted iTunes offer to update the driver for my iPod
Shuffle (to 1.1.2 I believe) and after the agonizing 30-some
megabytes download over dialup Internet I'm rewarded with "cannot
find burner or burner software" when I try to burn a disk in either
iTunes or Roxio Toast 6. And even worse, CDs no longer mount to
desktop and are not readable either. Amazingly both burners show up
in Apple System Profiler, but show no disks within them. My
affected unit is a Beige G3 "All in
One" with the formerly bootable Sony CRX1611 CD-RW as the only
modification. Running OS X 10.2.8 and 9.2.2 in separate
partitions.
I know for a fact that both my internal and external burners
(both previously iTunes compatible) are still functioning, because
when I boot to OS 9 (thank Apple for dual booting low-end
Macs!) they work flawlessly in iTunes 2 and Roxio Toast 5.
Help me, Mr. Wizard, or perhaps one of your readers might have a
fix.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
David
Joining the Mac Side with a 12" PowerBook
From SwOoShY BaLLeR
Thanks Charles.
Thanks to your help. I've decided to join the Mac side and buy a
PowerBook 12" myself! Thanks for taking the time to answer all my
questions.
I really appreciate it!
Making Mac 512k System Disks
From Michele Matteo
Hello!
:-) I get from a friend a Mac 512k, in very good conditions,
with original mouse and keyboard! The machine works good, the b/w
monitor is like a new one, but I haven't the System Disk or any
type of diskette. Also, I can't make a boot disk coz all my friends
haven't an old Mac with 400 - 1,44 floppy drive to build one. Pls,
can you suggest me where I can find an usable System Disk or how I
can make one?
Thank you in advance,
Michele Matteo, Milan - Italy
Hi Michele,
You can find information and lots of links on this issue
here:
You're going to have to find someone with a Mac that has a
floppy drive that supports 400K/800K floppies, however. Perhaps you
could find a somewhat newer old Mac for sale cheaply?
Charles
Editor's note: The only Macs that included 800K floppies were
the Mac Plus, 512Ke, pre-FDHD SE, and the Mac II. To the best of my recollection, you
can't make a 400K floppy using a 1.4 MB drive. dk Update: You can.
Looking for Mac OS 9 Compatible Printers
From Lynn Gray
Greetings:
I read with interest your article
on Mac OS 9 compatibility. I'm looking for a printer
replacement for my mother's iMac
233 MHz setup. Any ideas on whether there are any new printers
that support Mac OS 9? If not, perhaps some suggestions on the
best refurbs to buy.
Thanks,
Lynn Gray
Hi Lynn,
I don't have a very broad frame of reference on
this topic, but as a general comment, I think most of the major
printer manufacturers, such as Canon, Epson, HP, and Lexmark, are
are still providing OS 9 drivers for at least some of their
printers. If a printer supports OS 9, it should say so on the
box - or the sales person should be able to tell you.
Charles
Prediction for Apple's October 12 'One More
Thing'
From Alvin
Hi, how're you? I'd like to share my prediction for the Apple
October 12 event. Enjoy the read.
Title: Apple October 12,
One More Thing...
God bless,
Alvin
Thanks Alvin
Charles
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