ill-Logitech

I feel like I’m saying goodbye to an old friend.

Logitech makes the best mice. My very first multi-button rodent was the bald, wired Logitech. I love(d) my MX1000. The bluetooth mouse works flawlessly on my laptop. The battery in their wireless keyboard has never been replaced (in two years). My tunes play through Logitech speakers. Their Logitech Control Center (LCC) sucks great big rocks through tiny straws.

To begin with, my Logitech wireless keyboard’s neat programmable buttons stop responding . . . including volume control. I pull down the blue apple to system preferences and the Logitech Control Center.

And wait.

Beachball.

Force quit System Preferences and try again.

Beachball.

Thus begins an odyssey worthy of Jason. The fleece has already occurred.

For over two months, I’m playing email ping pong with the Logitech Customer Support. They claim mystification. Now I know better. They knew of the issue long ago and have done nothing (tangible).

It turns out that OS X 10.4.8 broke the LCC . . . sometimes. Meanwhile they’re having me install, reinstall, re-reinstall an older version, de-install Kensington, trash files, install the newer version, wait for the next release and install that, dance widdershins around the grave of a Jamaican voodoo priest whilst sprinkling powdered tana leaves from a Pharaohs tomb . . .

My point is?

They knew all this. They knew they were making me perform useless tasks knowing in advance they wouldn’t work.

At this point I’m taking matters into my own hands. Doing research online with Google is a step we all should start taking. Just be aware that not all info is reliable and unbiased.

Here is what I found:
• LCC is incompatible with 10.4.8
• LCC uses APE (Unsanity’s Application Enhancer) Once I trashed those APE files, my volume control buttons started working again. (But LCC’s still broke)
• 10.4.9 didn’t solve the problem.

Meanwhile, I need to replace my MX 1000 due to a stuttering left clicker. The Logitech wireless mouse that came with the keyboard loses its clicker and I have to unplug the USB cable and re-insert so it will.

Bye Bye Logitech. The penalty for wasting my time? Banishment.

Any suggestions?