Technology: November 2009 Archives

The trackpad and the keyboard are all one unit (actually, it's the whole top of the computer's case), and it all needed to be replaced. Surprisingly, they had one in stock, and made the switch for me that day. Taking it home, Software Update told me I had to perform the keyboard firmware update 1.0.1, which I did.

After a couple of days, however, the "Z" key popped off. I snapped it back into place, and it popped off again the next day. Also, the new trackpad had a very sticky button when pressed in the middle of the button. Either end of the button performed as expected, but the middle would not click unless pushed very hard. Finally, the kangaroo Z key and the sticky button became enough of an annoyance that I had to return it for another replacement.

I called the store and explained the situation, and they asked me to wait until after Black Friday to bring it in. I brought it in today (Monday, Nov. 30) and they replaced the keyboard and trackpad assembly in a few hours. Again with the firmware update, and we're off to the races.

I hope that this keyboard/trackpad lasts longer than the last replacement. My Applecare will expire in January, so I hope so... As for the savings, the replacement would have cost $224.06 if I were paying out of pocket. Score 1 for Applecare.

At first, I was confused because the system was active but confused while Sync cataloged the content on the iPod. After it finished cataloging, though, the system became properly responsive.

I did not try to bluetooth connect the phone part of the iPhone, though, so I have no experience with that.

Pushing the button on the steering wheel woke Sync and it asked me what I wanted to do. I had to tell it to use USB (where the iPhone was tethered), and then ask it to play a specific audiobook. I gave up after two minutes of getting the wrong audiobooks or the wrong part of the book I wanted.

Turning to music, I asked it to "Play artist Blue Oyster Cult," expecting it to play a selection of songs. After three minutes of frustration, repeating myself or rephrasing or speaking louder or softer, I caved to Bill Gates' wishes and settled on the Steely Dan that it eventually selected.

After a while, though, I asked it to "Play Artist Yes," and it had no problem with that request. Encouraged, I tried BOC again, and was stymied.

Of course, pressing and holding the iPhone button and using Voice Command hasn't failed me yet, for BOC or any other artist, audio book, or phone contact.

Score one for Apple.

Performance boost is an understatement.

I haven't done any benchmarking yet, but starting apps (which used to take half a minute to several minutes, depending on the app) was unexpectedly fast. So fast, with Acrobat 9, for instance, that I didn't even notice that Acrobat had started. Powerpoint 2007 opened in about 4 seconds, and Captivate 4 took only 10 or 11 seconds to get running.

Parallels shared folders, which always took anywhere from 10 to 45 seconds to refresh, took around 8 seconds, no more, to refresh.

I am thus far delighted with this upgrade, and look forward to Windows 7.

http://kb.parallels.com/en/6873
It explains that you need to set the number of CPUs to 1, then let Parallels install the new tools, then set the CPUs back to 2 or more.

Seems to have done the trick. I just wish that Parallels' help system would have revealed this solution.