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Back in the Saddle

by Garwulf on June 28, 2009 · 2 comments

I am pleased to announce that Apple elected to end my frustration by providing me with a brand new imac. :D

Sandbox TigerApple finally conceded and determined that my imac was a lemon apparently. Very good call in my opinion.

Now I have me a brand spankin’ new imac with double the HD space (1 TB Yay!) and iLife ’09. So far it’s running like a champ and is noticeably more responsive than my previous imac.

Apple is back on my good side. :D

A couple things I need to address though.. the new imacs come with the standard Apple keyboard as opposed to the one with the numeric keypad and additional keys like I’d had before. For those of you unfamiliar with the Apple keyboards, they are sexy as hell, but take some getting used to. They are super low profile, the keys are very shallow and some of them are quite tiny, like the F keys for instance.

I had gotten pretty well acquainted with my old kb, but this one may be in need of replacement. It’s form factor is awesome, the footprint is incredibly small (measures only 4.5″ x 11″ and just under 3/4″ high), but it’s almost too basic. I not only miss the numeric keypad, but I’ve been constantly looking for my page up and down keys. :\

Rather than drop $49 for another keyboard like my previous one, I’m thinking of picking up a 3rd party keyboard with more features. I’m really interested in the Logitech G19, but the price is a bit steep at $199. Before I made the switch to mac, I was using one of the older G15 models (w/ the 18 macro keys) which I really loved. If I could check one out in person I’m sure I’d be able to make a decision, but no stores around here carry them.

Secondly, Apple recommended against the 3rd party mouse driver that I was using for my Logitech G5. I wasn’t crazy about the driver anyway, but they said it can attribute to typing lag which is something I had been experiencing before. Unfortunately, the G5 has no drivers for the mac.

Right now I’m eyeballing the Razer DeathAdder. One of my WoW buds, and fellow mac user, just bought one and gives it high praise, so I think that’s where I’m headed.

Time to bust out that Amazon gift card I got for my birthday. :D

Anyway, I am excited to be back in the mix.

Tagged as: apple, imac, logitech

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 icedtrip June 29, 2009 at 7:21 am

I run a Hackintosh myself, but also have several Macs as well. I love the machines, and the OS is top notch. Been a Mac fan ever since having a Mac SE/30 and OS 6.

I understand your frustrations with Apple, even though I have never had the problems you experienced with your machine. I’m glad they made everything right with you on it. Actually, my main dealing with Apple regarding warranty coverage was with an old 17 inch CRT I bought on eBay. It had a problem, I found a knowledge base article about it, called Apple and they shipped me a box, had me send it in, and I had a working monitor back at my place within a week, all at Apple’s cost. The monitor was close to 10 years old!

In any case, this is what I use for my keyboard/mouse setup. I have the original G15 keyboard (like you mentioned) with the 18 macro buttons (the blue lit one, not amber) and although it is quite large, I love it. I also have the G9 mouse with the larger shell that Logitech released recently. My hands are bigger and the shells that came with it were lacking, and they finally released a shell similar to the G5 shell.

Although Logitech does have drivers for the keyboard for OS X, I have yet to really put them to use. I don’t care for what the LCD does, and have yet to put my 18 macros to use like they are meant to be. Even without the Logitech software, the volume toggle and media buttons work with iTunes with no problems.

As for the mouse, Logitech does not have any drivers for the G9 for OS X, but it works just fine. Also, the memory features of the mouse are great. Basically, set them up in Windows (boot camp) like you want them, and they will work just fine in OS X. The only difference being that you will have to manually switch the profiles vs allowing the program that is running to switch them for you.

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2 Garwulf June 29, 2009 at 12:42 pm

That story about your monitor is very reassuring, and a testament to Apple’s customer care.

I’ve been so conflicted over the keyboard/mouse plans. I want that Logitech G19 sooo bad, but I keep stopping myself from dropping the $200. Now I’m thinking about the DiNovo for mac, which is only $79.

This new imac keyboard is just too small. The old one was small as well, but this one’s even more condensed because they had to squeeze in the directional keys too. While the G keys are undoubtedly awesome, I’m used to playing without them now.

The hard part is finding a nice apple compatible keyboard with backlit keys. The DiNovo seems perfect aside from that.

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