Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac
Logitech
$50 US
This new solar-powered wireless keyboard is almost perfect. It works great, but it has some perfectly annoying “features.”
There is no printed manual or full set of Internet instructions. Its web site is incomplete. No built-in indent on the keyboard is provided for storage and travel with its USB dongle. There is no way to know when the caps lock key is activated.
Aside from those four minuses, Logitech has done a stellar job with engineering and design of its new Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac. Solar and ambient light battery charging are effortless. So is power management using a free software download. Battery efficiency is exceptional.
The physical keyboard base and key ergonomics are great, including two small fold-out legs for an angled typing position. Touch typing is much better than on any Apple keyboard of recent memory. All the standard Apple keyboard keys are included, exactly as on a full size Macintosh keyboard. K750 comes in five colors, is very thin in depth, and has a three year hardware warranty.
This is not a Bluetooth keyboard. One of your Mac’s USB ports is necessary to host the transciever dongle. This dongle has two pieces. One is a tiny USB fitting that is almost invisible when inserted. The other is an extension plug for the first one. It’s not easy to describe, but it’s very easy to use.
I don’t like Bluetooth keyboards. I was happy using an extended chicklet Apple wired USB keyboard until I began to use Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac. Now the Cupertino keyboard feels inferior to my touch typing fingers.
Advice to Logitech: build in a tiny slot to insert the smaller dongle, provide better documentation, and give users a caps lock light. Then this terrific keyboard will truly be perfect.
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CooKey USB Flash Drive
$30 to $90, depending upon capacity: 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB
Is that a key in your pocket or are you just glad to be able to copy my banana cream pie recipe? LaCie’s tasteful CooKey is a lightweight, versatile, affordable, high-capacity USB flash drive that goes anywhere and everywhere because it is on your keychain or key ring.
There is only one drawback. CooKey’s four gold contacts are always exposed, risking physical damage and data corruption, in spite of being resistant to water and scratches. I have had a CooKey in my pocket with my house and vehicle keys for two months with no problems, but long term operation is hard to predict.
This product ships with a useless tiny plastic tip cover that will be lost or eaten by your cat in a couple of days. I challenge the company to devise a physical sheath or cover to protect those precious contact points without adding much weight or size to CooKey version 2.
The drive volume mounts almost instantly on a Mac’s Desktop, and transfers data as fast as any prior USB flash drive we have reviewed. This is an excellent product with only that one demerit. Treat CooKey with a little tenderness and it should last a very long time. A two-year warranty is provided.
Data security, computer locking, and cloud storage features are included with every CooKey. We will examine them in a future article.
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Zefyr 2 Laptop Cooling Bar and Fan
$80
Macintosh laptop computers may be cool, but their bottoms can get hot. Heat is the enemy of batteries, wires, CPUs, and legs. Keep your portable computer cool and add to its life and your comfort. An $80 price tag is pennies when you consider the alternative.
Most people do not use any method of elevating or cooling their MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Why not? These users are lazy and uninformed.
I have tested and used extensively several kinds of computer cooling devices. Folding bars with fans are my favorites for multi-location situations when an elevated computing position on a flat, solid surface is required.
Moshi’s Zefyr 2 is beautifully designed and constructed. Its materials are top quality. The three-position fan switch is easy to use, the USB cable is simple to maneuver, and the fan noise is modest relative to movement of air. Battery drain is modest.
For travel, the physical folded unit is neither small nor large, neither light nor heavy, but once you decide you need Zefyr 2 you’ll certainly never leave home or work without it. The USB plug has a pass-through, so you don’t lose access to that port.
Some reviewers say they use this product on a lap, but MyMac doesn’t recommend it. There are other ways to keep your Mac and body cool that provide greater stability and comfort.
The 13 inch Zefyr 2Â is usable for all sizes of MacBook and MacBook Pro with some care in placement of the cooling bar and USB cable. You may decide to add a short USB extension cord to give you more wiggle room.
One minor complaint about positioning. The single-angle rear-position tilt may not be precisely what all people desire. That is minor when compared to the benefits of continuously running Moshi’s Zefyr 2 cooling bar and fan.
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Drive Box Anti-Static Bare Hard Drive Cases
$5.50 small and $7.00 large
In my work as a peripatetic computer tutor I often have to transport internal computer hard drives with their exposed electronics. Enter WiebeTech, front and center, with the second generation of their Drive Box Anti-Static Bare Hard Drive Cases.
Place drive into case, close case, and travel. Small $5.50 cases fit 2.5 inch drives and large $7.00 cases fit 3.5 inch drives. Volume discounts are available. WiebeTech provides formatted drives sold in Drive Box cases.
An anti-static plastic material is used. A label area and blank label are provided for marking and identification. Multiple cases stack and store steadily, when desired.
If you are a techie who knows how to handle bare drives and needs them for work or personal use, don’t be an idiot when it comes to protecting your precious cargo.
This company has no hidden agenda. WiebeTech’s goal is data storage and protection, including law enforcement and industry. If you need two Drive Boxes, order four of them. You and your clients will be glad you did.
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Correction from the parent company of WiebeTech, which is CRU-DataPort:
“I know these [company names] are often interchangeable, but the Drive Box is technically under the CRU umbrella.”
Additional comment from LaCie’s representative:
“I have had my CooKey on a key chain for more than 6 months and it still works great. I fact we have stopped selling the plastic sleeve with the key because the metal is so tough.”