New Keyboard for My Mac Mini - Royal Kludge S98

When I bought my Mac Mini, I bought it without buying a keyboard for it.  Not long after purchasing the Mini, my older iMac died.  I ended up trashing the iMac, as I couldn't repair it (was unwilling to pump anymore money into it and it was over 10 years old.  Prior to it dying, I was using it as a monitor for my iMac and other systems (using Target Display Mode).

With the iMac gone, I still had the Magic Mouse and the keyboard that came with the iMac.  What I hate about the keyboard is that it eats batteries.  As well, I like full sized keyboards.  So, I thought I'd buy a nice keyboard for the Mini.

I purchased the Royal Kludge S98, mainly because it was a full sized keyboard (or nearly so), it could be used with other computers (it has 3 BT profiles), it's wireless, and it was a mechanical keyboard -- I've never owned a mechanical keyboard.

I've mixed feelings.  I like the keyboard a lot, but it doesn't have software for Macs.  It's software is Windows-only.  I would've liked to use the software's macro configurations.  As well, it doesn't have labeled Mac buttons (command and option buttons).

The specific version I bought was the Linear Viridian switch version in turquoise green.

I might try to buy Mac-specific keys for it, as the keys can be swapped out.  Maybe I'll get those two keys in red.

I like the keyboard screen in the upper right corner.  I like that I've the option for 2.4 GHz connectivity, BT, or USB wired connectivity.

I also love the lighting (it's RGB).  It also has a beefy battery - I can get a lot of use out of it, on one charge, if I disable the keyboard backlights.

I did notice one hiccup with the Mac Mini last week where I had the keyboard linked to it via bluetooth - I'd logged out of the Mac and came back later to do some work, but the keyboard wouldn't let me type out the password properly.  I noticed that it kept hanging on the 2nd character.  I had another BT keyboard handy and tried to log in with it and it was doing the same thing.  I thought it was strange.  I ended up doing a hard reboot (I hadn't thought of SSH'ing into the Mini to do a restart - I could've done that).  The system recovered and let me access it while using the S98.  I'm not sure if it was a keyboard-related issue but I've been using the Mac 2+ years and nothing like that has every occurred until I started using the S98.  I'll keep a watch to see if this occurs again.

UPDATE (2/5/2025):  Well I had the keyboard issue again, today.  Again, I don't think it's an actual keyboard issue, as I tried two different keyboards and both were doing the sme thing.  This go-around, it was the 6th character tht wasn't rendering on the first keypress.  After experimenting, I was able to press the key for the 6th character a second time to get it to register...doing that, I was able to log in successfully.  After I logged in, I typed in Terminal to see if I was having that same issue across my password characters - it rendered fine.  I then logged out and tried to log back in - I was able to successfully log in (I did this 3 times, successfully, to test).  I searched for some tips and most articles I saw suggested that there was a hardware keyboard issue, which is't the case here since I'm using two different keyboards that experience the same exact issue.  I also used Disk Utility to do a disk repair - there were no errors to repair.  I think there's a bug in the latest OS update (the latest OS update was applied a few days ago).  This didn't start occurring until after that OS update was applied.

UPDATE 2 (2/7/2025):  It happened again, just now.  It's definitely not a hardware issue, as I used my Mac wireless keyboard this time, too - I used all three keyboards and the issue still occurred.  As well, two characters weren't being recognized this time - characters 6 and 7.  This is so odd.

I'll report any issues with the keyboard, but I'm enjoying it thus far.

New Ear Buds - Beats Studio Buds +

I bought a new set of ear buds this week.  I bought the Beats Studio Buds +.

It's technical specs are here.

I'm still using my set of AirPod Pros (v1) and while they've not presented any issues that warrant immediate replacement, I got the Studio Buds for 30% off the normal price.  I basically bought these because they were on sale.

A few things I noticed right off the bat:

• The charing pod uses USB-C, which I LOVE!  I've quite a few Lightning cables but USB-C is always better, IMO.
• These come with an assortment of gel inserts, which allows a good bud-to-ear fitment.  I always hated the fact that I've to buy 3rd party solutions to get the AirPod Pros to work with my particular ear.  I don't have to worry about such things with the Studio Buds.
• The Studio Buds have a larger charging case (it's more rounded than the AirPod case).
• I love the way the buds "snick" into the case - each bud has a magnet (or each space within the case has a magnet - dunno which...there's some magnetics going on, for sure, though).
• Pairing button is inside lid of the case.

I listened to both sets of buds back-to-back and both are on-par with each other as far as audio quality is concerned.  Both have great noise cancelling functionality, as well.

There's hardly anything to dislike.  

The only real gripe I have is that the case is larger (it has a larger footprint than the AirPods Pro case).  The case is slicker as well, but it could be due to my choice of cases...I've the clear case and buds, which has an unfinished feel.  The case looks really cool, though.

Another slight gripe would be that the form factor is small.  Small is good, unless you've big hands and fingers.  They're a bit more difficult to use when pressing the buttons on the buds.  It also means that you can't use the same accessories that you'd use with the AirPod Pros, such as the gel sports tethers.

Also, I don't know which bud belongs in which ear, either, but also not sure if it matters.  

These are trivial gripes, though.

UPDATE (6/1/2024): looking closely, I can see that each bud is labeled "R" or "L" on the bottom.  Since I've the clear case, it is very difficult to see the labeling but I'll include a pic below:

I'll provide updates throughout the year.

UPDATE (7/28/2024):

Although I love these buds (I use them more than I do my 1st Gen AirPods Pro), they don't stay in my ears all that well.  They stay in better than my AirPods in their stock configuration, although the Comply cushions make the AirPods stay in my ear.

As well, my right ear has a wider canal that appears to be between sizes.  I've tried all the different size OEM cushions but none of them work well in my right ear.

I checked to see if Comply has cushions for the Beats Studio buds and they do, so I ordered an assorted set.  I also ordered a set of LUDOS cushions - if those turn out to not work, I'm going to try to refund them (if I can't, there's not much of a loss, as they're not expensive).

Using the MBA, the iPhone 13 PM, & QuickTime to Capture Video

I was recording video footage today and decided to do two things that I hadn't ever done.

I wanted some really good detailed footage, but also wanted to be able to zoom in on my subject.  My GoPro is usually my primary camera, but it doesn't zoom like a smartphone or DSLR camera.  

I tried to use my PC's Logitech C922 streaming camera, but that doesn't zoom either.  It only produces 1080p footage, as well, but it's pretty clear and my M1 Macbook Air (MBA) immediately detects it; I'm able to use that camera's microphone, too.  The C922 works far better than the camera that is integrated into the MBA (that's a 720p camera).

I'd forgotten that I can now use my iPhone 13 Pro Max as a desktop camera with recent versions of iOS but hadn't tried it.  I tried it and it captures extremely nice footage!  Not only that, there's NO latency - the MBA connects to the iPhone wirelessly and you'd never know it wasn't a wired connection.

As well, I'd been using Photobooth to collect footage.  While the footage is OK, it's also somewhat limited.  I also lost footage, several times...the recording session sometimes freezes.  So I did some quick research on any native methods of recording footage on a Mac.  I found that I can use Quicktime to record footage.  Not only that, I can point it toward the iPhone and leverage the phone as a camera.  Also, I can record audio only, if I've the need to.  Additionally, I can record the desktop!  I can choose between different cameras and can rely upon their audio hardware, and I can even mix up cameras and mics across different devices when using QuickTime.

So, what I did was use QuickTime to record, using the iPhone 13 PM and using the Logitech C922's mic.  I was also able to hold up the subjects of the recording session to the 13 PM and it would focus on the items while they were close-up to the camera.  I'm not sure how to manipulate the camera's resolution and other recording options when using QuickTime, though.  By default, it recorded at 1080p, and used ProRES.

The resulting footage was great.  It had good detail and was not blurry, nor did the focus hunt and change...it maintained focus on it's own.  The recorded file was on the MBA, as well, which is pretty wild...the footage didn't glitch out or have any artifacts and the recording session didn't lag or appear that it was under any stress.  I'd saved the files to my SanDisk 2TB drive, so none of it consumed system drivespace.

I should've been using my 13PM a long time ago.  I'd been trying to use it as a standalone camera, but found that the resulting video files were huge and I'd have to transfer them to the MBA, which was a PITA.  As well, the large files consumed my phone's storage space, so I was always at the space limit.

Using the 13PM as a camera when using the MBA is the better way, by far!

I'll be attempting to determine how to up the recording resolution when using the 13PM as a MBA camera.

BTW, the resulting video is here:

Some Mac-specific Questions

 I've some Mac-specific questions.

1. I added keywords to many of my pictures and videos in the Photos app.  I've created smart folders on my MBA.  The photos and videos are stored in iCloud for sharing with other Mac hosts.  When I view those photos on my Mac Mini, I can see the keywords but the smart folder criteria was never copied/synched to iCloud.  I'd rather not create another set of smart folders on the Mini.  The question is:  is there a way to copy/export smart folders from one system for import into another system?  This might also be a good iCloud feature request for photos.

2. Can smart folders be shared across a network?

I'll attempt to answer these questions myself via research and trial/error, but I wanted track the research here.

UPDATE:

I ended up enabling iCloud photo sharing on my Mini, which copied all my photos and videos to the Mini.  I just noticed that all of my created smart folders were copied over to the Mini, too!   There's no need to delve into question 2.

UPDATE 2:

Sometime in December 2022, I disabled iCloud photo sharing on both the Mini and my MBA, as the pictures had consumed my 200 GB of iCloud space.  They are backed up, which is good, but I can't currently view the photos as active photos.  This is a major reason why potential Apple device owners should carefully evaluate drive space options when considering the purchase of Apple appliances.

MacOS and Smart Folders

Below are my notes from learning a bit about smart folders in MacOS.

Copied from a Notes entry:

8/3/2022 - Smart Folders

I want to better organize my photos and videos (that are stored in Photos and currently shared to iCloud).

I also wanted to try using Smart Folders.

I’ve also never backed up my photos, so I got the idea that I could save my photos as a backup, while also sorting them (Photos contains both videos and photos), and also removing duplicate photos.

• I copied all of the photos and videos to my Extreme Pro SSD
• I copied all the files to PNG format.
• Several of these files are actually videos (.mov), which I coped as well.
• I then created two smart folders
• A smart folder for images (PNG)
• A smart folder for movies (MOV)

One thing I had a problem with is determining how to get the smart folders to only search a certain drive.  By default, when created smart folders, the criteria is set to search the native SSD.  I couldn’t find a way to change this to search against the Extreme Pro.

I decided to cheat by assigning all the files on the Extreme Pro SSD the following tag:  Extreme Pro.  If they were photos, I added the “photos” tag and if they were movies, I added the “movie”, “quicktime”, and “video” tags. 

I noticed that there are many duplicates of photos (they’re appended with (1), (2)…).  I need to study up on how to use smart folders to eliminate the duplicates (if possible).

https://osxdaily.com/2020/09/17/how-find-duplicate-files-mac/ can help with this.

Once I get the duplicates removed, I’ll need to go through them and get rid of any needless photos/videos.  The plan is to archive them all, as well as not have them taking up iCloud space and hard drive space on both the Mini and MBA. 

I also couldn’t find a way to refine an existing smart folder’s name, so I created a new one and gave it the name I needed, then saved it.  I then had the problem of having the original smart folder and couldn’t find out how to delete it.  The following URL helped to delete that folder:  https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-an-Item-from-the-Finder-Sidebar-on-a-Mac.

8/4/2022 - Smart Folders 2

After watching a few videos on Youtube about how to create searches and saving the searches as smart folders, I did the following:

1. Opened new Finder window
2. Used Cmd+F (to find files)
3. Chose the following as “Search:” - Extreme Pro
4. Searched for File extension =  PNG
5. Saved as “Photos - Extreme Pro”
6. The above resulted in saving the search as a smart folder.

New M1 user? Get the correct version of Chrome!

 Just so you know:

If you just got a new M1 Mac, make sure you’re using the right version of Google Chrome.

If you're wondering if you've the correct one, you can check the following:

• Open Chrome browser after it has installed, Go to the three vertical dots and click them.
• Select Help.
• Select About Chrome.  
• You should see "arm64", which is the M1 version.  See below recording.

I Have Another iPhone; Airpod Pro Earbuds; Mac Mini M1

iPhone 13 Pro Max 256 GB 

Back in March (2022), I decided to let go of my LG smartphone.  I've been using LGs since the V20 (used the V30 and had been using the V60 (which I still have) up until March).

When LG decided to get out of the smartphone business, I began my look for a different phone.  None of the other brands held my interest.  Yes, other companies make phones that have similar specifications, but most do not have expandable memory (micro SD) or physical audio ports (or even DAC).  LG's V60 was innovative, in that you could also use dual screens (docks with screens) with them.

I did not want a Chinese phone (no OnePlus or similar).  I did not want Samsung (used their phones awhile back...was NOT impressed and had several issues with two phones where I had to return both of them and one of the replacements experienced the same issue 1.5 years after the exchange).

Several things about iPhones that will never go away: Their resale value.  They also have a very good ecosystem.  The software and security is good.  They've long support.  If I have an issue with a phone, I can visit the local Apple Store.  Their peripherals work great (even when using them with non-Apple products).

I decided on, and bought, an iPhone 13 Pro Max 256 in Alpine Green.  The phone looks great and feels great in the hand.  It has an elegant look to it.

Right off the bat, I hated the fact that logins are tied to Apple IDs and iCloud.  I also hate the fact that I can't change the UI. (With Android, we use launchers to change the look of everything.)  The phone has no fingerprint reader. (Face ID works great, though!)  It came with no ear phones, nor did it come with a power adapter, which is mandatory for usage of the Fast Charging feature.  It's all glass but comes with no phone case (WTF).  Luckily, I ordered a case when I ordered the phone.  I also ordered a 32W power adapter.

It is now May and I've used the phone a few months.  I've grown accustomed to it.  There's less of an issue with me fighting with iCloud now. (I found that a large part of my issues stemmed from the fact that I somehow have two Apple IDs.)  

I've begun using the phone to listen to music.  Most of my music collection consists of raw MP3s, but it is a royal bitch to use raw MP3s with iPhones.  I had to import the raw files into iTunes on a PC so that I could import/link/sync them to the iPhone.  Some of my music was tied to one of the two Apple IDs, and for a while I had issues where I couldn't access the content I paid for ten years ago. (Yes, I got that sorted.)

Apple Airpod Pro Earbuds

I even bought a set of Airpod Pros.  I tried a pair of my daughter's corded Airpods but they would never stay in my ears.  Even Airpods slipped out, as they are similar to the corded variant.  The Pros have rubber pieces that help keep the pods in the ear canal, and they stay put better than regular AirPods, but they're still not all that secure when in my ear.  I foresee these falling out of my ear at inopportune moments.  They've great sound, with noise cancellation and sound pass-through and text-to-voice features.  The rechargeable case is great (although slick).

Mac Mini M1 (2020) Base - Space Gray

I'd been using my 27" iMac lately to access the music and files on it when using the new iPhone, but it is OLD (late 2009 model).  So, I bought a Mac Mini M1 to replace it - that was the best decision I've made in quite a while, as this Mini is very powerful.  I bought the 8GB RAM & 256GB SSD version.  I didn't want to spend a ton of money on another Mac, so I focused on the lower end (after doing research, the lower end will be fine for non-professional things and even some professional tasks).  As well, I bought a dock that gives me several more ports (for less than $100) - it fits under the Mini and has the same profile.  The dock also had a port for an SSD card, so I mounted a 500GB SSD to it, so the system now has a 500GB data drive.  The dock is a Quiizlab USB-C Hub.

I'd been using the iMac as a dedicated monitor for work, but I think I'll use it with the Mini instead.  I'm currently using a Dell SE2719H 27" monitor with the Mini but love the 1440p screen of the iMac.

What's also cool is that I'm remotely administrating the iMac from the Mini using the Screen Sharing tool.  This is somewhat new to me, as the iMac was previously the only other working Mac in the house.  Note that I've two old (2005ish) Macbooks that aren't being used, as well as a G4 PowerMac that's sitting in a corner.  The Mini may spur me to get another (modern) Mac system.  UPDATE - Yup...bought a Macbook Air M1.

I've also bought my first real app for the Mini: iStatistica Pro, a system monitoring tool.  I used to use iStat and was going to purchase it but saw that it hadn't been updated in awhile (and other issues).  iStatistica Pro was the same price ($10), and didn't seem to have any bad reviews, so I bought it.  I've already used it to pare down some files. (I copied the files from my iMac to the Mini when setting it up, so there's a bit of files on the Mini already.)

So, I'm happy.  I won't promise to document my experience with the recent Apple purchases since my life is pretty fragmented right now, but I'll document the experience when I remember I've things to share.

New Title & URL Assigned to this Blog

I should've done this a long time ago.  I've always tried to mesh general tech in this blog but the original make-up of this site was always of an Apple/Mac orientation.

Without further ado, the new name of the blog is All Things Tech.  The new URL is technology2have.blogspot.com (everything else I tried was taken already, but I suppose I could've leveraged the domain space I currently own).

The content of continue to revolve around general technology...I've no plans to change anything else about the blog.

Legacy Macbook Woes

I got the Macbook back in 2006, I believe.  It's pre-C2D and apparently doesn't support 64-bit OSs.  My wife's computer is C2D (mine is Core Duo), so her CPU is 64-bit...the motherboard probably doesn't support 64-bit, though.  I'd try to install Lion on it but she'd kill me.  It took her awhile to get used to Snow Leopard when I upgraded it without her consent (LOL).

So....

http://www.glitch.com/forum/general/11684/#reply-122479:

"The issue I experience with this is that I have one of the first intel core duo macs. This means that the max memory it can handle is 2 gigs. This means that the mac cannot handle running 10.6 even though it has 64-bit capable processors. This means that my mac is stuck at 10.5.8 until it breaks and I am forced to buy a new iMac (a few thousand dollars I do not want to spend until I have to since the iMac still does everything that I need it to). This is not a huge deal for me since I have 2 Windows machines and 1 Linux machine that run Glitch perfectly, but if anyone else has this issue and therefore is unable to use Flash 11, please post here so the devs have a better idea of usage statistics and can make a decision as to wether or not it is worth dedicating resources to allow people to play the game with Flash 10 with the caveat that it may not work right."

Yeah, I'm pretty much stuck in the same situation as the above, although a reply to the above hinted at a workaround:

http://www.glitch.com/forum/general/11684/#reply-122489:

Landar, first off your Mac will run *better* under 10.6 than 10.5, with the same hardware you have right now. I've done that with MacBooks and iMacs of that generation.
Second, almost all the C2D Macs can actually handle 3-and-a-bit gig (it's the usual Intel motherboard limitations) or even four, look up your system at www.everymac.com/systems/by... and click through to the details page.

So, there may be hope after all.  I'll need to look into this.

Core Duo Not Supported by Mac OS X Lion

So, I plugged my Macbook to the network, thinking I'd download and install Lion via the App Store (by going to Store --> Purchased (since I'd already bought and installed Lion on the iMac), but found that Core Duo machines aren't supported:

WTF...

It looks like my Macbook now has one foot in the grave.  I'll have to stick with Snow Leopard, but eventually, that will be unsupported.  It's not a huge deal, I guess, since Lion just came out.  I wonder when Leopard goes end-of-life (if it hasn't already)...

This is a rather large bummer.  The laptop isn't THAT old.

Well, there's one other Macbook in the house...my wife's.  It is a Core 2 Duo machine.  I don't even know if she wants the upgrade but it is available to her if she'd like to give it a shot.

It looks like I've a good excuse to buy me a new Macbook next year with whatever bonus I get.  If I do, I'll go Pro this time, more than likely...so I can game on it.

May as well back up with Time Machine since I've got it set up beside the iMac, though.

OS X Lion Brings Major Security Overhaul To Apple Users

OS X Lion Brings Major Security Overhaul To Apple Users

I haven't yet fully read the article, but it will definitely be on my weekend hitlist!

Ugh!

I'm beginning to HATE iWeb. I can only post things if I use my MacBook or iMac. I can't create iWeb content using my iPad or a Windows machine (WTF). There's also the issue with my Macbook having an older copy of iWeb...I'm trying to prevent having to spend $70 to get the latest version of iLife. Yeah, its only $70, but factor in that I have to use the word 'only' every time I purchase software or computer supplies...that stuff adds up (seriously).

So, coming back to Blogger seems to be the logical solution. I can access Blogger from any system while I can't with iWeb. I don't have to pay for Blogger to ensure compatibility, either. I think iWeb has become an afterthought for Apple. The Apple mindset of "we know better than the user/consumer" gets old after awhile...

New Software Added - 3/28/2010

Added KisMac to my Macbook.

This software is NICE!!  I've used Kismet before (on a Sharp Zaurus SL5500), but the Mac version is VERY nice!

One disturbing thing (that I should put on my security blog) is that I saw a lot of WAPs in my neighborhood still using WEP.  Three of them were Actiontec routers, which show the new rollout of FIOS from Verizon.  Mine also shows up, but mine is set to use WPA2.  There were maybe 5-6 WAPs using WPA (of maybe 10-12), but I was the ONLY one that I detected that was using WPA2.  That's not good, IMO.

I may take a drive around tomorrow to sample the neighborhood.  I'll parse that data and post it on my security blog.

Reported iMac Issue - Won't Wake From Sleep

So, on MacRumors and the Apple forums, there are documented issues with Macs that won't wake from sleep.  The aforementioned links show forum posts of the issue, but in all honesty, this has been going on for quite awhile in the Mac world:  here's an example of ALL Mac machines and not just iMacs.

I've experienced this only once with my new iMac.  It happened on the evening of the 17th of March.  It hasn't happened since.  I know the machine woke because I heard it turn on inside the case.  I think the screen/monitor couldn't recover for some reason, and I ended up rebooting.

Some are suggesting that this is a hardware issue with the iMac.  I doubt it, since it's been affecting other machines (for years).  It almost has to be third-party software being installed, or maybe some recent patch that's been affecting the recent iMacs, but really, again, this has been going on for years.  There's one report that people with G5s have always experienced this issue.  I have personal experience that it was happening with Macbooks, although it hasn't happened recently.

What really hinders the troubleshooting of this is the fact that its happening intermittently.  Some people are reporting that they've fixed this by reinstalling OS X.  Others are reporting fixes by resetting the SMC.  Some are removing widgets and software and seeing results.  Some are reporting fixes by unplugging USB hubs from their machines.  Some are getting internals replaced by Apple, such as graphics cards, power supplies, and motherboards.

Honestly, this is all over the place and could hint at multiple issues.

There's been no official word from Apple (ever).

[ EDIT 4/2/2010:


http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1018 addresses the waking issue. ]

More Widgets and Apps

A few more widgets that I've installed onto the iMac:

MightyMonitor - monitors battery life of keyboard/mouse.

A few more apps:

Smultron - HTML editor
Adium - IM chat client

Note that all of the above is free or donate-ware.  I'll always try those types of software first.

MobileMe

Experimenting with MobileMe.  MobileMe is fantastic.  I mainly got it so that I could track and erase my iPhone in case I lost it.  I also wanted to play with it to learn its capabilities while using it on a trial basis.  What really got me was the iCalendar syncing. I am beginning to be heavily involved with teleconferencing at work and am sometimes participating in these three times a day, along with my other tasks, so I really needed to be able to track what I’d be doing in advance of a call, no matter what system I was using.  So, with MobileMe, I can edit or add a calendar entry and no matter which system I use, the other gets updated.  The calendar entry can be done on either my Macbook, iMac or iPhone!

 

I also decided to start trying to evaluate other aspects of MobileMe, such as the blogging and website potential.  Blogging will be first, but I'm also willing to test webpage capability.


The blog looks good so far (only one entry, but linked pictures show up slowly...not particularly good). And, I have to use iWeb to make blog posts...I don't think iWeb is accessible via the web, though...I'll find out soon enough and it may be at MobileMe.


I'll post my evaluations here as I discover the good and bad.

Recent Software Installs

The software I've tried so far:

Adium - multi-protocol IM client (more protocol support than iChat)
mBackup - for backup of mSecure for my iPhone
Firefox - browser for Mac from Mozilla
Chrome - beta browser for Mac from Google
iWork - office suite for Mac
TeamSpeak 3 - voice chat for Mac
Flip4Mac - WMV Components allow you to import, export and play Windows Media video and audio files on your Mac
Hewlett-Packard printer software/drivers - for HP Deskjet All-In-One F4240 printer

The software I still want to install:

Xchat (Aqua) - IRC client for Mac
One of these - DVD/CD burning software for Mac

iMac - Stuck Pixel

So, I've a stuck pixel (showing as red) on the left lower quadrant of the screen.

So far, I've used JScreenFix in an attempt to unstick it, but have not been able to rid myself of it.  I can't massage the pixel to unstick it, either.

I'm looking at other possible remedies, but the existence of this stuck pixel isn't a deal-breaker. It's one of millions?  We'll see if this is an issue later, if others are discovered...it will come down to how many are discovered.  I'm not going to actively seek them out, either.

This would be a deal-breaker for a lot of Mac owners, due to the nature of Mac owners constantly seeking perfection.  I'm NOT going to adopt that philosophy, swapping out multiple machines until I get that perfect machine.  Perfection is non-existent, unless you're purchasing a Ferrari or Porsche, and some of those cost close to a third of a million dollars in some cases.  Some will say that the Mac is the Ferrari or Porsche of computers.  Hardly.

Want 64-bit Mode?

If you're not already aware, recent Macs are sold in 32-bit mode.  Suppose you want to try 64-bit mode?

This link explains how.

Apple Serial Number Info Website

I found this very cool site when perusing posts at MacRumors:

http://appleserialnumberinfo.com

If you put the serial number of a Mac into the field at the top left and hit 'enter', you should see something similar to the following.  Mine is:

Model:	- iMac (27-inch Late 2009)
Codename:	- ?
Build Country:	- Your Mac was built in the USA.
Build Year:	- Your Mac was built in 2010.
Build Week	- Your Mac was built in week 7 of that year (February).
Production Nr.:	- Your Mac was number 1117 to be built that week.
Source:	AppleSerialNumberInfo.com

An interesting fact is that they are now building Macs in the USA.  This probably cuts down on delivery, as I read that some people are getting their Macs within three days of ordering.  Nice!