Archive for the ‘mac’ Category
Using the MacBook Pro Remote Control under Windows
This past week I’ve been conducting a number of .NET-related presentations for the DevTeach Toronto conference. Unfortunately, the MacBook remote does not work by default in Windows and I wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of keying my way through my PowerPoint deck.
Fortuitously, I came across this handy little utility called EventGhost. EventGhost hangs out in your system tray, intercepts events from external devices and then allows you to script the response to the event. It comes with a plugin for intercepting events from the MacBook IR receiver which you can then map onto keystrokes.
To get going with Event Ghost, you need to add a plugin for HID: Aple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver. Clicking the buttons on the remote control will then allow you to see the names for the various events. Next create a macro for each event type and then choose the Emulate Keystrokes action to produce the right response. The screenshot below shows the settings that I use.
Tags: eventghost, mac, windows
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May 16th, 2008
Disabling Caps Lock under OSX
I hate the Caps Lock key. I really don’t understand why it continues to be a prominent fixture on computer keyboards. I mean - who uses it anyway? It just gets in the way when you mean to hit the Shift or Tab keys and then you have to delete the text that’s now shouting back at you.
For many years, I’ve used a little Freeware Windows utility called BoldFinger. It sits in your system tray and intercepts any Caps Lock keystrokes. If you hover over the BoldFinger icon it tells you how many times it’s “saved” you from the Caps Lock key.
Now that I’ve switched to a Mac, I was happy to discover the OSX has built a way to disable the Caps Lock key directly into the OS. Just go to System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse and then click the Modifier Keys button on the Keyboard tab. Set the Caps Lock key dropdown to No Action and you won’t be bothered by that pesky key ever again.
Tags: keyboard, mac, windows
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May 16th, 2008