Ask Jacob

You should check the Audio tab in the Skype preferences and make sure that it is referencing the same input / output. It may also be advisable to upgrade your Skype version to 2.7 which should run on your system.

If all the above fails, you may need to try an Archive and Install of the Mac OS to remove any problem USB audio drivers causing a conflict.

Hope this helps,
Jacob

Just like with people, a Mac insomniac can have many potential causes of sleepless nights. The first place to look is with expansion cards. More often than not, the problem lies with a PCI, PCI-X, or PCIe card that is doing some low level communication with the rest of your Mac. That communication could be causing it to wake from low power mode. If you have any cards installed it would be a good idea to remove them and see if the sleep behavior of your Mac computer returns to normal.

It can also be due to a software-based problem. A good test would consist of creating a new user account on your system and log into it. Without starting any applications, put the computer to sleep and see if it stays that way. If it does stay sleeping, then there is something running in your main user account that wakes your system, and you should look at your user account’s login items for suspect applications.

If your Mac still fails to sleep in a clean user account, you should see if you have a setting in the Energy Saver System Preferences that would cause the system to wake. Under the Options tab uncheck anything under the “Wake Options” section. Also click on the Schedule button and make sure that there aren’t checked items in that section.

I hope that gets you going it the right direction
Jacob

There are a few drive adapter cases out there that will probably work well for you but I would suggest just getting a Universal Drive Adapter cable. This will not only work on your used iBooks hard drive but also let you use it on almost any other raw drive you come across.

I have one in my tool box and it is invaluable. If, however, you would rather have a full hard drive enclosure then look at this nice budget unit that will create a permanent home for your old Apple computer hard drive.

Hope that helps,
Jacob

There are two ways to handle the deleting of unwanted email within Apple Mail. You can move mail to a Trash folder until it is time to permanently remove the messages, or you can keep them in your Inbox until they are to be removed completely. Deleted messages will remain in the Trash until they are permanently erased, as specified in Mail preferences. If you want to empty the trash early, you can Right click or [Control] click on the trash icon and select “Erase Deleted Messages.”

In Mail preferences, under the Accounts tab, you can specify for each mail account to not “Move deleted messages to the Trash mailbox” by un-checking the checkbox. Messages remain in their original location after you delete them, and are shown dimmed or are hidden. To show or hide deleted messages, select “Show Deleted Messages” or “Hide Deleted Messages” from the View menu.

You will probably want to select the “Hide Deleted Messages” options to get rid off those grayed out messages.

Hope that helps,

Jacob

In this case it may be easier to get a Floppy Drive for your G5 iMac, opposed to trying to connect your used Mac to this newer one. Fortunately Floppy drives are relatively cheap and will work for transferring files from the old system, in addition to allowing you to install this older application. I have been fond of the LaCie USB floppy drive and think you will like it as well.

Hope this helps
Jacob

A Mac Pro of nearly any generation should last you a considerable amount of time. Very few of them have made there way to service, which is a pretty good indicator of the quality of this generation of Mac. I also like to mention that an iMac can handle some of the pro photography tasks you are going to use your computer for. It may seem under powered for you, but I have had a good deal of success with a iMac as the workhorse of my office. It is essential that you get a color accurate external display for your iMac to, not only extend the screen real-estate, but to counter the color distortion of the glossy display.

Not many people have traded in a Mac Pro and few are returned as Open Box units, so deals are hard to come by. For expandability and overall performance, an entry 2.8GHZ Quad-Core Mac Pro should treat you well for many years.

I hope this helps but I am sure that you many need to spend some time on the phone with a PowerMax sales person to find the best value Mac Pro.

Jacob

Some of these off brand cameras are hard to deal with because they were never designed to work with Mac computers and they are so obscure that Apple did not build specific support for them into the Mac OS, as they do with more popular cameras. This is not to say that your camera will never work again, it is just not going to be easy to find specific info on your camera’s Mac connectivity.

This Emprex camera you are using charges from the USB connection. It could be this charging operation that is causing the problem. Not all G4 Macs had USB 2.0 ports on them and and that is likely going to be the requirement of this camera. Not that this camera needs the extra speed but a USB 2.0 port provides more power than the older USB 1.1 port. A good test would be to fully charge this camera from another computer that has USB 2.0, or a well powered USB port, and then check to see whether it properly mounts on the Apple Mac.

The other option would be to try removing the SD memory card from the camera and use a universal card reader to transfer the photos over to the Mac.

Hope this helps
Jacob

You have many monitor options that will work with a Mac G5 Tower. The best kind of display to look at would be a DVI based LCD monitor. Almost any of these 20″ displays will work well with your G5 and many are priced to fit a tight budget. The Apple displays are certainly nice but not everyone needs that exact quality of display.

Hope that helps,
Jacob

In this case you have done much of the troubleshooting I would have suggested. I would not rule out the RAM as a cause though, and it would not be a “bad RAM” issue but a problem with the slot or amount of RAM. Your model Macbook Pro only supports 3GB of RAM although it will see all 4GB installed. Try running with a single stick of Apple original RAM installed. When you get a failure, move the stick to another slot. If it fails then repeat with another RAM stick, each time running in just one slot.

Also I assume that with the “re-installed OS 10.5.5″ you did an Archive and Install. If you did not, that full Archive and Install Process can work better than a Combo Update reinstall. I would also suggest that you run the Apple Hardware Test off the install DVD. You restart your system holding down the [D] key with the install disk in the drive.

Hope that helps, some.

Jacob

The iMic is a very decent solution to broken internal audio ports on your Mac computer. The only issue is that the internal headphone jack may have an intermittent short in it that signals your Mac that you have earphones connected. The Mac was engineered so that headphones would override all other audio settings. It is possible that the tip of a 1/8th inch plug is stuck in the headphone jack. Use a flashlight to look inside that port and compare it to the mic port and see if you can identify any foreign material stuck in the port. If you find something, use a paper clip to try and remove it.

Hope that helps,
Jacob

There was only one Repair Extension program for the G5 iMac that I know of and that covered the logic board and power supply. That program is over now but it would not have required the replacement of the LCD. You may be able to convince Apple that this is an unacceptable product lifespan for your iMac and would like them to consider other options, I just do not know how successful that will be. If the LCD work was done by an Apple Authorized service center you should have enough justification to a least start a conversation with Apple Support.

Sorry to hear about your problems and I hope it works out for you.
Jacob

Well my friend, you are not alone in desiring a Jacobimize feature in OS X. The problem is that Apple does not share that opinion and does not even include it as part of its Human Interface Guidelines. OS X has a Zoom button that has many different functions based on the application. It is the little [+] button on top of most windows (Depending on your preferences, it may be Green). This is often used as a toggle between the default window size and the User specified window size. Full screen is only possible if the Application programmers decided to include it. This is one of the reasons I use WriteRoom for composition of long form text.

All the solutions that others have engineered to Jacobimize windows will work most of the time, but not universally as you have found. Unless Apple changes the way the Apple computers Mac OS functions you will have to make do with the lack of a true universal Jacobimize feature. There is hope from an unlikely place though. If the iPhone can be any indication on the direction Apple is taking the OS interface, we may soon see a desktop OS without windows. Just buttons and a navigation dock.

Sorry I do not have better news for you,
Jacob

In most cases holding down the power button for a continued time will force your Apple Mac to shutdown. It is not good to do often, but this procedure is intended to be an emergency off option. If that fails to work, then your only other option would be to remove the battery and power cord and repeat the power off option of holding down the power-button until the sleep light on the front stops glowing. Because the power button is in the upper right hand corner and it is not always certain that the button is fully depressed, try pinching the button down. Use your right thumb to press the button and have your right pointer finger underneath the laptop, directly below your right thumb. This way you will be able to maintain the button press and signal the shut down. After it is shut down you should follow the linked procedure for a PMU reset and then power-up the computer again.

Hopefully the PMU reset should prevent you from suffering through this problem again.

Jacob

Apple’s update to the iPod classic was “classic Apple” and left many people scratching their heads. It is hard to imagine that having fewer options is better for the consumer but that was the gist of this change. What really happened was that the under-performing iPod Classic 160GB was cut from the iPod lineup and the 80GB model got an upgrade to 120GB. You realize this when you consider size. With iPods there is size, “how much music can this hold” and then there is size, “how big is this thing.” The 80GB iPod Classic is the same physical dimensions as the 120GB iPod Classic, allowing it to use all the same accessories. Apple could have kept a 160GB Classic but was unable to make it hold more music via a larger hard drive. The capacity of the physically larger 160GB iPod was too close to the upgraded “smaller” in physical size iPod Classic. Considering the similarity in storage size, but the difference in accessories, Apple opted to just eliminate the confusion and drop the heftier iPod. Cleaner product offerings, but fewer options.

We also have to understand how the iPod Classic fits into Apple’s idea of the future. Apple design is moving towards touching and not scrolling: big glass screens like the iPod touch and not little plastic shields over smaller LCDs. If only the Classic iPod did not sell so well Apple could just kill it altogether but we silly consumers just love the things. So I recommend ignoring Apple and their minimalist direction and get the iPod that fits you, and that sounds like the 160GB iPod classic. Get ‘em while they last.

Hope that helps,
Jacob

The processor speeds are not going to impact your graphics performance like the MacBook’s integrated GeForce 9400M video chipset will. This is a substantial improvement over the previous generation MacBook’s video capabilities but may fall short of the 3D rendering power most games demand. If you are at all interested in the previous generation of MacBook Pro, then you should look at this 2.4GHz MacBook Pro for $1,599.

This may not have the sexy and rugged design of the new Unibody Mac laptops, but this is at its heart the power you need for gaming and graphic design. If though, you are after the latest and greatest then the 2.4GHz Unibody MacBook is in your budget.

Use your money to buy the best processor-equipped laptop now, and upgrade the hard drive and RAM later. You can always upgrade those things later but it is almost impossible to upgrade a processor in a MacBook after you get it home.

Hope that helps,
Jacob

You most certainly can share Word documents between PC and Mac versions of the program. The interface looks different but the document types are cross compatible.

Jacob