Tag Archives: PowerBook

Mac OS X: Using Your Laptop in “Clamshell Mode”

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Using your MacBook or MacBook Pro with the lid closed. Really.

Apple Cinema DisplayAs the prices for large, flat-screen displays continue to fall, many folks are buying one as a second display. About a year ago, I wound up with a 23″ Apple Cinema Display that I’d bought used from a friend who was moving. I installed it in my Phoenix office, with the idea that I’d use it with my laptop — then a 15″ MacBook Pro; now a 13″ MacBook Pro. I connected the display to my Mac and began using it with the laptop’s built-in display, very much as I discuss here.

I soon realized that I really didn’t use the second display because of the awkwardness of “driving” the mouse from one screen to the other. But, at the same time, It made no sense to use the smaller monitor when I could be using the larger one. When I started using a wireless keyboard and mouse with my laptop in my Phoenix office, I realized that I was ready for clamshell mode.

Clamshell mode enables you to use a PowerBook G4, MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with the computer’s lid closed. All you need to have is an external monitor and input devices. The input devices can be wired or wireless. The computer sends all display output to the external monitor and accepts all input from those external input devices. The computer itself just does the CPU stuff.

Clamshell ModeYou can even put the computer aside, out of the way. The photo here gives you an idea of how my office desktop looks with my 13″ MacBook Pro running in clamshell mode, standing in a special stand I bought to keep it out of the way on my rather shallow desk.

There are two ways to enter and exit clamshell mode, depending on whether your input devices are wired or wireless. Let’s take a look at each method.

Wired Input Devices

If you have a wired keyboard and mouse, getting set up with clamshell mode is pretty easy.

  1. Connect the computer to a power adapter — this won’t work on battery power — and, if necessary, turn your computer on.
  2. Plug in your keyboard and mouse.
  3. Connect your external display to your computer and turn it on.
  4. When the desktop appear on the external display, close the computer’s lid.
  5. If the computer goes to sleep — which is likely — wake it by touching any key on the keyboard.

You can now use the computer with the external keyboard, mouse, and display.

Wireless Input Devices

In my particular setup, I have a Bluetooth Apple keyboard and a wireless (but not Bluetooth) Logitech mouse. The instructions I follow are similar to the wired input devices instructions. The key is to pair any Bluetooth devices before starting clamshell mode.

  1. Connect the computer to a power adapter — this won’t work on battery power — and, if necessary, turn your computer on.
  2. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on.
  3. Pair and connect your computer with your keyboard and mouse and confirm that they work.
  4. Advanced Bluetooth OptionsIn the Advanced settings of the Bluetooth System Preferences pane, make sure the Allow Bluetooth Devices to Wake this Computer.
  5. Connect your external display to your computer and turn it on.
  6. When the desktop appear on the external display, close the computer’s lid.
  7. If the computer goes to sleep — which is likely — wake it by touching any key on the keyboard.

In my case, because my mouse is not Bluetooth, I had to connect the mouse’s USB wireless adapter to my monitor (which has USB ports) or computer and turn the mouse on.

Watch the Video

If you’re a visual kind of person and want to see the process in action, watch this video, which I shot with my Flip camera. We’re not talking Academy Award material here, folks, but it does show you how it works — at least for me.

When You’re Finished with Clamshell Mode

Eventually, you’ll want to start using your computer the usual way, with its own built-in display. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Put the computer to sleep. (This step might not be necessary; it depends on the computer model and display. Experiment with your system.)
  2. Disconnect the display.
  3. Wake your computer to use it.

Need More Information?

Snow Leopard Book CoverYou can find more information about using monitors and Bluetooth devices with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide.

You can find Apple’s instructions for using clamshell mode here. That document will be revised as procedures change.

About My New Fifth Generation iPod Nano

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Holy cow!

Yesterday, my Fifth Generation iPod — approximately equal to what they’re now calling an iPod Classic — the first version to support video — died again. I have a tendency to let the battery drain completely and sit in my purse like that. Then, when I attempt to sync, my Mac doesn’t know what the heck it’s connected to and wants to restore it.

This is the fifth time this has happened and the third time it has happened in the past two months. When I left for an appointment yesterday, it was still connected to my Mac, trying to import about 25GB of podcasts and music and videos. It was taking a long time, so I left it.

Coincidentally, that appointment was at the Biltmore Apple Store, which is walking distance from our “Rear Window” apartment in Phoenix. I was bringing in my 12″ PowerBook, which had a dead hard disk. I wanted to know what it would cost to replace the disk. I learned a few things:

  • The 12″ PowerBook computer was first manufactured in early 2003.
  • I bought mine in July 2003.
  • On a 12″ PowerBook, you must remove 23 screws to get at and remove the hard disk. You then have to screw them all back in. In the right places.
  • Apple has absolutely no interest in repairing 6-year-old laptops.

I’ll blog more about my solution to this another time. Let me get back to my new Nano.

Of course, I hadn’t bought it yet. But I figured that since I was there, I may as well take a look.

iPod Nano

This isn’t my Nano, my thumb, or a video of anyone I know. But mine looks a lot like this one.

And I liked what I saw. So I bought a 16 GB red one. Yes, it’s (product)red, so a portion of the purchase price goes to fight AIDS in Africa. But that’s not why I picked red. I just like red. I’d like to help fight AIDS in Africa, but they’d get a lot less money from me if it was (product)turquoise.

Understand this: I bought a new iPod to replace one that simply wasn’t functioning reliably. The idea was to buy an iPod that would work with the iPod setup in my car and elsewhere. (The Shuffle won’t.)

I liked the idea of video, but since the video feature sucked battery power in my old iPod, I didn’t use it often. I didn’t expect to use it much on this iPod either.

All I wanted was something I could use to listen to podcasts and music while I drove or flew.

I got so much more.

This little sucker is absolutely packed with features.

  • It plays MP3s and other audio format files.
  • It plays movies.
  • It has an FM radio tuner built in. The FM tuner can identify songs so you can tag them and later sync them with your computer for easy shopping on the iTunes Store.
  • It has a video camera.
  • It has a pedometer. It can sync up with Nike’s Web site for some reason I’m not clear about and probably wouldn’t care about if I did.
  • It has games.
  • It can tell when you tilt it so it orients the screen properly. This tilt thing can also be used by games.
  • It can record voice memos.
  • It can store and display photos.
  • It can sync with Address Book and iCal on my Mac.
  • It can store notes.

It does a huge amount of stuff I didn’t expect. And every time I find something new, I get all giddy, like a kid.

Playing with one of these silly things for the first time — as an owner — is better than opening presents at Christmas.

Now I know what you’re saying. “Maria, you work with Apple products all the time. Didn’t you know that the Nano had all these features?”

No, I didn’t. I mean I knew about the movies and heard about the built-in video camera. But the tilt thing and games and pedometer and radio were all quite a shock.

Maybe you’re saying, “Maria, how could you spend nearly $200 and not know what you’re getting?”

Well, I thought that what I thought I was getting was worth $200. The Nano comes in a really sleek little package. Weighs next to nothing. Incredible quality video for such a tiny screen. I was satisfied.

Now I’m beyond that.

Do all MP3 players have this many bells and whistles? What have I been missing?

As you might imagine, I’m very happy with my new purchase. The only adjustment I’ll need is limiting the data I put on it to less than 16 GB. My old iPod has a 30 GB hard disk in it; this is quite a step down.

But I’ll deal with it.

Back to Basics with my 12-inch PowerBook

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Who needs a netbook? I got this old clunker.

PowerBookYears ago, I bought a 12″ PowerBook. I was attracted to its small size and great power. Back when it was first released, you may remember, it was considered a tiny marvel. While other people flocked to the 17″ PowerBook, I wanted sheer portability and the 12″ was my dream laptop.

Time marches on. A G4 processor operating with 640 MB of RAM isn’t anyone’s dream machine anymore. Hell, when I tried to install Leopard on it last year, it was so slow I had to rebuild the hard disk with Tiger on it.

And I think that’s when I fell out of love with it.

You see, in the meantime, I’d bought a 15″ MacBook Pro. Not one of the new ones — this one is about two years old now. I’d bought it as a test mule — a computer to run software on while I write about the software. But when I finished my Leopard book in September 2007, I began using the MacBook Pro more and more. And when I couldn’t get Leopard to run on the 12″, I realized that it was silly to use an old laptop when I had a newer one. The 12″ wound up on the shelf.

But this morning I pulled it out and dusted it off and fired it up. I let it update Microsoft Office 2004 and various Apple software. I updated my ecto database to pull in all the blog entries I’d written over the past year. And I started writing this.

The sad part about this PowerBook is that the battery is so toasted that it won’t hold a charge for more than 20 minutes of operations. So as a portable computer for use in coffee shops, etc., it fails miserably. But plug it in and sit at the kitchen table and it does everything it’s supposed to.

I want a netbook. I’m sorely tempted by the Dell Mini 9. A buddy of mine says he can transform it into a Hackintosh for me. But I’m also hoping that Apple comes out with their own netbook. If they price it reasonably — and I’m talking about well under $1,000 — I’ll be the first on line to buy one.

And frankly, I don’t give a damn about the so-called “Apple Tax.” Dan Miller of Macworld.com was right in his article, “The Microsoft Discount.” He could be speaking for me when he says:

But for the benefit of my Windows-using friends, I will say for the record: I don’t use a Mac because it’s cool. I use it because it works better for me. I use it because it doesn’t stink.

I’ve got a hopped-up Windows laptop that’s way faster than this little old PowerBook. But when it came time to do a little blogging this morning, I left it gathering dust on the shelf.