I've been using MC (Midnight Commander) for years on *nix systems, and was happy to get it running in the Terminal on the Mac. But where the heck is the Insert key on a Macbook Air [macbookair, macbookair, usingthemacbookair]? You need the Insert key to select files in MC! Thankfully, a helpful... read more →

Obviously, you can't have a good whole-house music system [musicstorage4, musicstorage6, musicstorage1, musicstorage2, musicstorage-solved3, musicstorage3, musicstorage-solved1, musicstorage8, musicstorage-solved2, musicstorage5, musicstorage7] without some dedicated music-playing hardware. In... read more →

FuseSMB is a handy network automounting tool for Linux. It basically works like the Network Neighborhood in Windows, allowing you to browse directories shared by other computers on the network. It uses the Samba (CIFS/SMB) protocol, so it picks up shares from Windows, Mac, or Linux machines…... read more →

For the past few months, I've been looking for a nice-sounding concert-sized acoustic guitar. I have a fine Takamine Dreadnought, but the size is uncomfortably large for me to have in my lap while I practice on the sofa. I played a lot of guitars, but was stunned to discover the value and quali... read more →

If you use Opera Mini, be sure to update to the latest Opera Mini 4.1. And if you are using it on a Treo [operamini41, operaminiusage, operamini4], make sure you have the latest "silent update", opera-mini-4.1.11355-advanced-int.prc. Also check the IBM Java VM Prefs for optimal Opera per... read more →

This week, I received my new company-issued laptop. My company was wise enough to see that the price/performance/reliability debate is won handily by Apple these days, so after years of using ThinkPads [thinkpadx40issues, thinkpadreference, thinkpadx40], I'm now using the hard drive version of ... read more →