A more functional alternative Universe.

A (probably geeky) part of me still yearns for 2007, the year of the iPhone, to not have existed. What a world it would be with the consumer technological landscape competing between sweet clamshells, functional keyboards. Sure, the allure of a minimalist touchscreen-only paradigm still stands.

Would instead of cutting-edge app design, we see vendors continuing to outdo each other with hardware design, an age-old trend?

In that alternate Universe, I'd be awaiting (I think patiently) the successor to the E72. It rocks Symbian and does Pokémon Java emulators!

Perhaps Nokia would reign triumphant and take over the world with their industry-leading optics (Carl Zeiss?), great design and stunning build quality.

end?

share: MacBook cable management

How do you manage your cables? 

Here's what worked for me:

Click to embiggen

It's a modified version from Lifehacker. A little bit tight at the ends, so I guess I rewind it less tightly. The end.

tip: static on your unibody aluminium MacBook?

Disclaimer: Success may be limited, depending on model, year. 

Takes: 5 minutes

Difficulty: too simple

Have you ever rested your palm on your MacBook whilst use, and gotten that annoying, yet nonlethal persistent static sting while it is connected to the mains? There actually is a very simple solution to that, but will depend on what's packaged with your MacBook.

If you're keen on conserving battery cycle use by having your MacBook plugged to mains whenever possible - like me; then this little tip will definitely be useful.

Here's what was in my package. It's a MacBook Air 2013.

In the package: MacBook Air 2013

As you can see on the top right and bottom right of the package (as illustrated above), are two components which so happen to plug to a same segment on the Magsafe 2 power brick. One's a lengthy and thick cord, while the other's simply a plug.

As you may (or may not) have tried, one solution allows you to plug the brick directly to the socket, minimising the cord length for certain use-cases. The other simple extends it to a barely manageable (not unless you know how to coil it well) length overall, allowing for a really useful extension - a nice to have when outside.

 

Taking note of the two appended photos, you would be able to spot a difference at the grooves. The triangular plug is of a plastic while the square plug has a simple metal catch mechanism. The difference is one allows for earthing, which rids of the static discharge altogether. If you have used the 3-pin UK plugs or similar, this would surely be familiar. Now you know. Have fun!