Posts Tagged ‘technology’
Another Macbook Pro No Sound Problem Tip
Back in July of 2012, I had a computer problem — no sound on my Macbook Pro. After I fixed the issue, I posted a tip titled Fixing Sound on Macbook Pro.
Guess what? The no sound problem just happened to me again. (I hope you were sitting down when you read that. If not, we apologize but accept no responsibility.)
Because I’m getting older (again, hope you were sitting down) I didn’t remember what I did to fix the sound problem on my Macbook the last time. However, I still came up with almost the exact same solution.
Googling “mac no sound” got me to a page at Apple.com that essentially treats you like a moron. It doesn’t say “are you sure you turned your computer on?” But it comes pretty darn close.
A couple of links down I found another page on Apple.com filled with suggestions such as “resetting the PRAM”, which I’ve done before and is not physically painful despite the phrasing. Further down in the same discussion thread was a much simpler solution:
Hi. I had the same problem this morning, and guessed that it might have something to do with the mechanical switch that’s built into the headphone socket. I just gently plugged and unplugged a pair of headphones into the socket a couple of time and voila, it worked again.
I did this. It worked immediately.
I refer to Internet/World Wide Web comments as “The Hive”. In this case, The Hive was very helpful. Thank you. Live long and prosper.
via No sound from MacBook Pro: Apple Support Communities.
Tiny Raspberry Pi Computer Could Create Generation of Tinkerers
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny Linux-based computer that can be customized to do a lot of things. (That is an oversimplification for the sake of blog-posting brevity.) Wired.com reports that the Element 14, the company that makes the adorably named doo-hickey, has now made 500,000 of them.
Since we’re always on the lookout for news about kids and computers, we were intrigued by this quote from Eben Upton, co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation:
“The younger generation has demonstrated significant intrigue in learning how to build and program their own computer device. And what has been great to see is the enormous growth in the hobbyist market. I have seen projects from Twittering chickens to home beer-brewing kits being created using the Raspberry Pi and its accessories.”
Now, by “younger generation” Upton probably isn’t referring to little kids, although maybe there are really really really smart little kids who could turn the Raspberry Pi into something nifty. Still, we’re fans of any product that is designed to be futzed with.
When I was a lad, Read more »
Old Portable TV — More Old Tech Your Kids Can Mock
Remember when it was cool to have something like this? A portable TV?
Bow To Your Soccerbot Overlords, Eventually
Among the many things our children will likely see in their lifetimes is fully functioning robots that can do more than simply clean our floors. Whether or not we parents will see such things depends upon both the pace of technology and how old we are. I’m old enough to be in the “maybe, maybe not” category.
According to this video from TheVerge of RoboCup 2012, I’m leaning towards “maybe not” for me being forced to fight the T-1000. The video features “the world’s best soccer robots [battling] it out in Mexico City for the Louis Vuitton Best Humanoid trophy”.
Best Humanoid Trophy. Kind of Orwellian, no?
Here’s the video.
Video: Real steel: the broken necks and baby steps of RoboCup 2012 (video) | The Verge.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Launch Event
Samsung unveiled their latest tablet, the Galaxy Note 10.1 at a launch event in New York City today. We were there. It’s a cool piece of technology. Here is a promotional video.
First impressions: Read more »
Fixing Sound on MacBook Pro
The sound on my Macbook Pro wasn’t working. Specifically the built-in speakers. I couldn’t figure out why. Headphones worked, as did a USB speaker. Eventually I figured out how to fix my sound problem, so I thought I’d share it with you. Here’s a Tech Tip from me, but really from the Internet.
Initial attempts to Google the problem didn’t help. Read more »
Upgrade to OS X Lion [DaddyTech]
So if you are a Apple Mac user, you may want to upgrade to OS X Lion. Why? Read more »
