Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Mercury On-The-Go FW800+USB2 up to 1.0TB. Bus Powered, no external power supply needed. Macworld Editors Choice, CNET Very Good Starting from $99.97, 500GB $159.99. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

The Compressed Air Keyboard Repair

Charles Moore - 2008.07.24 - Tip Jar

Popularity:

Bookmark in del.icio.us

My favorite keyboard (probably of all time - the only ones that come close are the 'boards in my WallStreet and Pismo G3 PowerBooks and my PowerBook 1400) is the Kensington SlimType (currently US$35.95 at Amazon.com), which I love dearly.

It's definitely the most comfortable and non-fatiguing freestanding computer keyboard I've ever used - but it gave me a scare recently when the F and W keys stopped responding properly. A keystroke would register only when the key was pressed more firmly than usual, and the subtle over-center click of the SlimType's scissors keyswitch mechanism was missing, with the malfunctioning keys feeling "numb" and offering higher than normal resistance.

Kensington SlimType for Mac

My initial approach was to attempt taking the keyboard apart to see if I could identify what was ailing it, but after removing all of the screws I could find on its bottom panel (many) and prying open the plastic clips around the case periphery, the keyboard still stubbornly refused to separate. I was reluctant to apply more pressure, as the plastic already seemed stressed by my efforts to the point of near-damage.

Time for plan B, if I could come up with one.

Scissor-switch technology Upon reflection, I figured that the most likely reason for the key malfunction was debris fouling the scissors keyswitch mechanism - which partially opening the case had seemed to verify visually. There seemed to be a fair bit of dust and crud in there. The marquee feature of the SlimType 'board is its excellent, laptop keyboard type scissors keyswitch action - very short, low-effort travel and smooth but positive feedback. Because of the short travel, it wouldn't take much foreign matter in the wrong place to affect the key function.

This particular 'board has had about three years of intensive production use (indeed, the letters on some of the most frequently actuated keys, like the e, are beginning to wear off from use), and I had never previously made any serious attempt to clean below the keys, which, as I had now discovered, was not that easy to do by conventional, take-apart means.

Since I couldn't get the keyboard to come apart, at least without apprehended serious risk of breaking something, I decided to try giving it a shot of compressed air to hopefully dislodge whatever was messing up the key action.

Kensington SlimType for Mac

I started up my old Campbell-Hausfeld air compressor in the garage, which is usually used for automotive related tasks like inflating tires and powering an air-chisel, but a blower nozzle and a 100 PSI blast of air proved the charm for my keyboard, causing a cloud of dust and debris to emerge from the aperture below the keycaps. Whatever had been causing trouble literally got blown away, and the keyboard was working perfectly again and has continued to do so.

For folks (presumably many reading this column) without convenient access to an air compressor, one of those little aerosol cans of compressed air used for cleaning photo equipment might do the trick.

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings

Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
4 Mac Browsers Updated Recently, 11.16. A look at the release version of Safari 4.0.4 and preview versions of Firefox 3.6, Chrome 4.0, and Opera 10.10.
More Mighty Mouse Alternatives, Wireless Safety, Switching to ClipMenu, and More, 11.11. Also Apple's AirPort Card as the best solution for Pismo, Color It and Snow Leopard, and later revision Mac OS X install discs.
Putting the SeaMonkey 2.0 Internet Suite Through Its Paces, 11.09. SeaMonkey is the successor to Netscape Navigator with its browser, email and news clients, and HTML editor. Version 2.0 puts it on par with Firefox 3.5.
More in the Miscellaneous Ramblings index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Power Mac G5 Quad, Oct. 2005 - With two 2.5 GHz dual-core G5 CPUs, the G5 Quad was the most powerful PowerPC Mac ever and introduced PCI Express.
Group of the Day: Mac Network deals with all aspects of Mac networking.
November 20 in LEM history: 85: Windows 1.0 - 00: Mac dreams - 01: Stop the upgrade insanity - Good people, good software, good business - The digital lifestyle: Text - 06: To AppleCare or not? - One year with my 'free' Mac mini - 07: Why you want to avoid integrated graphics - Problem with Leopard on a MDD
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Miscellaneous Ramblings ©1999-2009 by Charles W. Moore. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.