I finally picked up a mouse and a real keyboard for my powerbook. It does make a difference, my left palm isn't cooking on the HD, I'm not completely hunched over the PB. The mouse is the ultimate plain mouse. A Belkin optical unit that was 15 bucks cheap but amazinly well made. A lot of computer accesories today seem to miss the point. They try and add in a whole bunch of features but don't concentrate on doing what they are supposed to be doing. With it's plain-jane optical mouse, Belkin makes something smooth gliding, solid feeling and with right-sized buttons that work with a solid click and no plastic on plastic screeching sound. I found it in the PC isle at Fry's. Both buttons and the scrolly doo-dad work great with Mac OS X out of the box. I think OS X has improved it's scroll function, as it feels more natural and accelerated.


The keyboard is the MacAlly iceKey. It is a little bit higher concept than the Belkin mouse, but it is executed fairly well. I picked it out because it usess laptop keys. One of the reasons why I have long liked typing on my series of laptops is that the keys are short travel and light to touch. The iceKey basically does that and bundles it into a low profile keyboard. It isn't quiet as small as the good old Apple USB keyboard, but it is pretty minimal and has the same low profile.


I also picked up a set of DVD media and am burning my first DVD, Music: A thru Gustav Mahler. It has taken about an hour and ten minutes with a bit left to go on 4.5 gigs. I'm wondering if Toast is faster. Hmmm, Backup just threw an error during verification and said to insert a new disc. Like, hell, at $15 for 5 that's three bucks a coaster! Not to mention an hour of my computer burning it. Makes me think of the olden days with CD-R. Disc seems to mount and play songs fine....We'll see how the next burn goes.