Fixing Ye Olde iBook

Here I will talk about repairing and upgrading a 12-inch Apple iBook G4 laptop.

A great friend of mine had a 12-inch iBook laptop from 2005 - with a broken keyboard.  She asked me to help her shop for a new Mac to replace her old tried-but-true laptop.

Whenever anyone asks me for computer advice, I ask them what they want to do with a new computer.
She told me that she used her computer for basic email and surfing the web - she said the old iBook was great for many years, but that now, with a broken (and dirty and gross) keyboard, it was time to move on.

After thinking about it for 15 minutes with her, we concluded that the best approach was to fix her old laptop.  A little upgrade is a LOT easier than going out and buying a new machine, and then migrating 6 years of data and apps.  Also, the price is a lot less than a new machine.

We went on-line and bought two things:

• A replacement iBook keyboard, for around $40, and
• A 1 GB memory stick, for under $20.

The replacement iBook keyboard (bottom) and 1 GB upgrade (top, in envelope)

The components arrived in a few days.  Here was the basic procedure:

1. backed up everything
2. shut down and unplugged the iBook
3. removed the battery
4. popped off the keyboard (sliding two levers in the corner is all it takes!)
5. popped in the new RAM, which is situated under the keyboard
6. Unplugged the old keyboard, plugged the new one in and snapped it in place
7. Reinstalled the battery.  Done!

In all, it took less than 10 minutes to upgrade the iBook.

Instead, she ended up with an incrementally faster computer at a very low cost and with very low stress.  She did not end up with a new, fast-as-lightning computer with a hole in her pocket.

I loved this upgrade because the cost, effort, and result couldn't be beat:

• A very clean looking laptop with a working keyboard
• A faster laptop, thanks to the additional memory
• Her same programs and files, in same location - NO confusion!

And I had:

• An easy 15 minute upgrade
• No stress helping her buy a new computer
• No heavy lifting moving the data to a new computer
• No additional "support" calls

In short, these old iBooks are still useful little computers.  And with a little effort, you can keep them ticking for several more years to come.

The Repaired and Upgraded iBook: Looking great, running great!

Connecting your MIDI keyboard to your Mac

MIDI and the Mac.  It's easy, fun, and inexpensive!

I enjoy fooling around with musical instruments, and so when Garageband originally came out several years ago, I was very excited to start using it with my cheap little Casio keyboard.

Initially it seemed expensive and complicated to get the right parts together to connect the Mac to my keyboard via MIDI. I didn't want to spend a ton of money in professional-class electronics. I wanted to fool around.

Happily, I discovered that it's inexpensive and easy.  If you know where to look, a Mac-compliant MIDI adapter can be purchased for under $10! That's right, for less than $10 I connected my Mac to my MIDI keyboard and by MIDI drum kit.

I bought an MIDI-to-USB interface, in particular, on like this USB MIDI Cable available through Amazon. It's a simple device that has on MIDI "in" and one MIDI "out" connector on one end, and a USB connector on the other.  It doesn't require a power adapter - it's just a magic converter that translates MIDI into USB.

The beauty of this interface is that it required no special drivers for my Mac at all. My Mac, running Lion (and Snow Leopard, and Tiger before that) automatically detected it. Awesome.

I connected the MIDI-in connector on the cable to the MIDI-out port on my keyboard. And then I plugged the USB plug into my Mac. Hookup was that simple.

MIDI "out" cable goes to MIDI "in" port, and vice-versa

From there, I fired up the Garage Band application and turned on the keyboard. In Garageband, I created a new "Piano Project".

I started by creating a new "Piano" project

Once the new project appeared within Garageband, notes on my keyboard were coming out of my Mac's speakers. If this doesn't work, you may want to double check your volume and make sure that the "in" and "out" MIDI cables are plugged into the "out" and "in" on your keyboard.

From there, I was able to double-click on the Piano icon within the "tracks" view in order to change the instrument of my key presses to something else, like a sax. Do so reveals the Software Instrument selector.

Double-clicking on the piano icon sets you change the instrument

The Software Instrument list is fun and amusing

Since we play musical instruments in the house quite often, I decided to connect the Mac to an amplifier. I used a basic 3.5mm jack plugged into the headphone port of the Mac. I connected this to a small guitar amp.

Connecting a small guitar amp to the Mac

It's a good idea to turn down the volume on the amp before plugging or unplugging your Mac from it.

Next Steps

My next step is to experiment more deeply with GarageBand and some of the add-on instrument packs. Some add-on packs for GarageBand include:

• The shareware Boldt instrument packs.
• The Apple JamPacks (such as Symphony Orchestra, Rhythm Section, World Music, and Voices)
• The AMG ExpansionPack for GarageBand

That's my initial attempt to get started with MIDI on the Mac. It works great, but there is a lot more to try! Have fun!

802.11b WIFI is DEAD

802.11b is now utterly obsolete and must now be disabled by all access points, routers, and clients.

802.11b first emerged in 1999 - a hot new standard that provided inexpensive networking over the air. But by January 2003, a newer, even faster standard became commonplace - 802.11g. And since then, an even faster and more efficient standard - 802.11n has been on the scene.

802.11b is inefficient, and it slows down 802.11g and 802.11n networking due to protocol limitations. And therefore, I proclaim that 802.11b must be immediately banned from the world. Doing so will speed access for everyone.

So log into your access points and disable the mixed modes that support 802.11b. Throw out your old 802.11b-only interface cards and routers. You, and 99.99% of the rest of the world will see much better performance, and you'll be convincing the 0.01% of the world - those with 802.11b clients - to upgrade.

Upgrades are very inexpensive: 802.11n USB client interfaces are available for under $15, and 802.11n routers can be had for less than $25. At this point, there is simply no reason to have 802.11b around.   While we're at it, we might as well push for the end of 802.11g too.

Fixing Wifi Problems: MacBook wireless card replacement

For years my cousin was suffering with the WIFI of his 2008-vintage MacBook. His MacBook would drop its WIFI connection every few hours (or minutes), and he'd have to manually stop and start the WIFI on his MacBook to fix it. The bad behavior made web surfing, Netflix, and anything else on-line quite unpleasant.

The Bad WIFI card, as pulled from my cousin's MacBook.

I tried everything to try to fix the problem. I replaced his router, tweaked OS settings, and even re-installed the OS. The on-line forums weren't particularly helpful - a lot of people had a lot of ideas how to fix it with software, but ultimately none of their suggestions worked.

So I concluded that the problem was with the MacBook's WIFI card.

Some of you might think that the MacBook has its WIFI chip soldered onto the MacBook's main board, but that's not the case - the classic MacBook uses a fairly common WIFI card. Getting access to that card isn't trivial, but if you're able to drive a dozen or so screws with care, it can be done.

I bought the replacement WIFI card on eBay. It was a standard Broadcom Mini PCI express 802.11a/b/g/n card with two antenna connections ... (a lot like this one at Amazon) and it was under $20.

I took the MacBook apart, based on the an on-line guide, removed the old WIFI card and put in the new one. I reassembled the MacBook.

We booted the MacBook, and everything came up fine. The new WIFI operates perfectly, and there were zero software changes that had to take place. No special drivers required, and performance and reliability has been better than ever. Interestingly, going into "About This Mac" feature of the Finder shows that the WIFI card type was a "Third Party" card instead of an "Airport Extreme".

If your MacBook's WIFI is persistently problematic, I suggest you think about having your WIFI card replaced.

Dell X200 Keyboard Replacement

Well, the old Dell X200's keyboard gave up the ghost. Not entirely, but the good old backspace key stopped working, and it's really hard to use a keyboard without a backspace key.

Happily, it was easy to fix, as follows:

1. Buy a replacement keyboard (I bought my "like new" replacement keyboard through eBay for about $20)
2. Remove the battery
3. Unscrew the six screws from the bottom of the Dell marked with a (K)
4. Lever out the old keyboard from the bottom left. There is a little latch there.
   
5. Before fully removing the keyboard, un-snap the ZIF ribbon connector
6. Remove the keyboard completely
   
7. Slide the new keyboard into place
8. Push the keyboard cable into the ZIF connector; lock the ZIF connector
9. Screw the keyboard back in place with the six screws
10. Reinstall the battery

The end result? My 8 year old Dell X200 laptop is still running strong! It'd be awesome to get 3 more years out of it. Its only real limitation is it's limited RAM.

MacBook Keyboard & Trackpad Replacement Fix

My MacBook keyboard and trackpad has worn out to the point where it was hard to use. The trackpad and its button was behaving poorly, and the keys were less than perfect. Furthermore, the "palm rest" was stained and developed a crack.

Figure 1: The Yukky old keyboard/trackpad. Cracked, stained, and worn out.

But excitingly, there is a simple fix! I've replaced the keyboard and trackpad with new ones - and it was easy to do and inexpensive! It was the best thing I've done to my MacBook ever. This article covers what I did.

Figure 2: My clean new keyboard & trackpad! Awesome!

Background: The MacBook Top Case design

The MacBook keyboard and trackpad are integrated into a single part called the "MacBook Top Case". Due to the MacBook's design, you just can't replace the keyboard or the trackpad - you have to replace the entire "Top Case".

That sounds bad, but it really isn't, because the "Top Case" part is relatively inexpensive and readily available.

MacBook Top Case Variations

There are a few different Top Case variations. First, there is the choice of "Black" or "White". Either will do, but some people might have a cosmetic reasons for choosing black versus white. White top cases are generally less expensive, and I have a white MacBook, so I decided to go with white.

The other variation is the keyboard layout. My 2008-vintage MacBook had the "Volume Up" key on F12. Other vintages have the Volume Up on F5. And, of course, there are international keyboards.

Given price and availability, I decided to replace my "F12" MacBook keyboard with an "F5" version. Yes, some of the function keys have moved on me, but the different keyboard works 100% perfectly. (F5 is now my Volume-Up button, and I gained a numlock button on F6 to boot).

My procedure for installing a new MacBook Trackpad

1. I bought a MacBook Top Case. I bought the one through Amazon, here: Apple MacBook Top Case
2. Inspect the new purchase. Does it look like the right part? Be careful! The back is stamped aluminum and can be sharp!
3. Following these instructions to the point of fully removing the top case.
4. Compare the backside of both the old and new top case. Make sure the aluminum flanges on the new case are all straight. If they aren't, you'll have a hard time getting the new case to fit. (See Figure 3, below)
5. Plug the keyboard cable into its socket on the main board.
   
6. Slowly and carefully put the new top case into place. Don't force anything; You can get it all back perfectly if you are patient and careful. All the little flanges have a home; make sure they're going into them. Forcing things will just bend the flanges.
   
7. Reverse the disassembly instructions. All those little screws fit into or through the flanges and sockets and posts in the top case. Don't force anything and do not over-tighten any screws! When you're done, it should look beautiful and perfect! Again, take your time!
   

Figure 3: These little holed sheet metal flanges should be straight! There are nine of them: six threaded along the perimeter, three unthreaded in the center.


FIgure 4: The backside of the top case.

When I was all done, my MacBook looked and worked like new! I can no longer justify buying a MacBook Air, but I know I can get several more years out of this lovely MacBook!

Good luck!

Great gifts for the iPhone 4

You've made a great decision to buy an iPhone 4. It has become the love of your life, and now you want to buy it gifts. What should you buy? Here are the things that I bought - and love.

1. Grantwood FM transmitter with integrated car charger.

Awesome iPhone 4 compatible Grantwood FM Transmitter

If you have a car, this is one of the best gifts you can buy for your iPhone 4: The awesome iPhone 4 compatible Grantwood FM transmitter that has a built-in car charger. So you can listen to Pandora and listen to GPS directions all through your car's FM stereo... and keep it charged while you're at it. And it works exclusively through the dock connector, so there is no fooling around with extra cables or fiddling with the volume control. It works great for me, and is a solid bargain. I know - I bought one and I love it. I use it almost every time I drive.

2. Spare Charger and cable.

Spare iPhone Charger

Spare aftermarket chargers are standards-based and inexpensive. And so I keep a spare charger at work so I can always plug in. And I keep one in my travel bag. And I bought a few spare iPhone USB cables too... for computer syncing, or in case I lose or damage one.

3. Top-Notch Bluetooth headset: The BlueAnt T.

I bought a BlueAnt T1 about two days after it was released. I loved (and lost) my BlueAnt Z9i; the T1 is even MORE awesome. Not only is the T1 great for talking on the phone, you can also pump music or podcasts through it.

The BlueAnt T1 is my favorite BlueTooth headset

And the noise cancellation is perfect for me ... I know. I own a convertible car. The only problem with these bluetooth headsets is that they're way too easy to misplace. I wish they had a homing beacon on them.

4. A case, of course, but for the style.

An inexpensive iPhone 4 case can be a lot of fun.

Everyone already owns an iPhone 4 case, right? They can provide excellent iPhone protection. Well, friends, one case isn't enough, because they're cheap enough that you can also buy them for style alone!

iPhone 4 cases are so cheap at Amazon, there isn't really a reason not to buy several. They can show others who you are - from the whimsical to the political, or even the bizarre. And they are so inexpensive that you can buy two (or maybe even five) at the same price as one at a retail store.

Anything else?
And that's my list! Any other ideas? Feel free to comment!