mouse

Somewhere under Aspen, Colo., a time capsule containing Steve Jobs' mouse has been sitting and waiting to be unearthed. Since 1983. And no one knows where it is.

That's what blogger Marcel Brown wrote this morning, explaining that the time capsule, known as the Aspen Time Tube and buried in conjunction with the 1983 International Design Conference there, is lost and those looking for it are facing considerable odds against success.

According to a 2010 article in the Glenwood Springs (Colo.) Post Independent, the Aspen Time Tube was buried in June, 1983, and contained a number of items, ranging … Read more

It's not uncommon to own multiple PCs. For example, you might use both a desktop and a laptop, frequently hopping back and forth between their keyboards. That's kind of a hassle.

Wouldn't it be great if you could control both those machines from a single spot? That's the idea behind ShareMouse (Win/Mac), an invaluable utility that lets you share your mouse and keyboard with multiple networked PCs.

The software normally runs $30 per license, and you need a license for each system you want to control -- in other words, a minimum of two. Today … Read more

In the run-up to Windows 8, the one keyword you hear most often is "touch." That means touch-screen tablets and slates, touch panels added to traditional clamshell laptops, and touch-enabled all-in-one desktops. It also refers to Microsoft's new emphasis on touch gestures for touch pads, as well as the ambitious plans component companies such as Synaptics have for touch input in Windows 8.

While all this touch talk is going on, there's another trend gaining steam in the background. The standalone touch pad, once a very obscure computer accessory (even the Apple Magic Trackpad failed to … Read more

Remote Mouse is a free, lightweight, simple-to-use app that gives you the freedom of remotely controlling your computer (during presentations for example) by transforming your iPhone or iPad into a wireless mouse. The app does its job well, without any hiccups, although the advanced features such as the keyboard are locked in the free version of the app. This is kind of annoying, as the buttons are there but you can't use them.

At first start users will be guided to the official site of the app to read the manual in order to help them get started. However, … Read more

Multiplicity is geared for the power user who wants to control several computers with a single keyboard and mouse.

After installing the program, you'll be greeted with a simple setup process; designate your primary computer with the mouse/keyboard setup. Users should note that all their PCs must be networked via Ethernet or wireless so that Multiplicity can sync them all together.

Stardock's program will guide users through the setup process: simply log the secondary computer ID and passcode under the "Computers" tab in the primary computer. To set the secondary computer, users must also install … Read more

Last week I reviewed Lenovo's IdeaCentre A720, a Windows 7-based all-in-one desktop with a 27-inch touch screen. 27-inch displays are relatively new for Windows all-in-ones, but as the largest screens for the category they represent the ideal scenario for using Windows 8's touch (nee Metro) interface via desktop. As a follow-up to that review, here are my impressions of the Windows 8 desktop touch experience, facilitated by that Lenovo all-in-one and the Windows 8 Release Preview Build 8400 (you can also check out our review of a newer build, Windows 8 RTM, released today).

Disclaimer: The frustrations of … Read more

CCPlayer from Rambeau Christophe is another addition to the growing number of free media players out there. As media players go, it is certainly not one of those flashy apps with all the lights and trimmings. The publishers opted to present a rather simple interface with just the basic controls: Play, Stop, Next, Back, Playlist. If you're looking for fancy skins, this is not the media player for you.

CCPlayer will play most types of media: MP3, DIVX, MPEG, WAV. The interface itself is simple, unassuming, and easy to understand. Right-clicking on it will present additional options such as … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week readers wrote in with questions about enabling FTP access to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, systems not loading after files were manually deleted, right-click behaviors in OS X, the inability to downgrade after installing OS X 10.8, and where to look up the printers that Apple supports in OS X. We welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, post them in the comments!

Question: FTP server on OS X 10.8 MacFixIt … Read more

A few users who have upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion are noticing what appears to be a bug involving sound processing on their systems. When the problem occurs, the Mac's audio output will begin to stutter and the mouse cursor will pause and jump. At times the system may become unresponsive when the stuttering happens, but usually continues working again after a moment or two.

The cause of the problem is not clear at the moment, as it seems to come and go unpredictably, and also happens in a number of different software and hardware setups. While some … Read more