Sunday, February 20, 2005
iMac keyboards
We use the original iMac keyboards in the computer lab because their width (15.5") makes the table space less cramped than extended keyboards would (not to mention they came with the bondi 333 iMacs that populate 2/3 of the lab). One of the keyboards quit working, and it caused the computer to flash the folder icon on startup, as if the hard disk had failed. I didn't figure out that it was the keyboard until after changing several parts, I simply didn't plug in any USB cords and booted the iMac from the CPU power button. Pretty odd that a bad keyboard can prevent the computer from booting.
In another classroom, a wild kid had ripped the USB cable out of a sage iMac keyboard. I got some used bondi keyboards that had lost some keys. It turns out there are two styles of keyboard that look identical. The space bar from the sage fit in one of the bondi keyboards, but the rest are a mismatch for the other bad keyboard. Live and learn.
Update: I am now convinced that the color I call "Bondi" is actually "Blueberry". The early clamshell iBooks, the Blue & White G3 towers, the 333 tray-load iMacs and the 350 slot-load iMacs all came in blueberry, not bondi. Even though they look at lot more like bondi (in the appearance controls) than blueberry (in the fruity ads)!
In another classroom, a wild kid had ripped the USB cable out of a sage iMac keyboard. I got some used bondi keyboards that had lost some keys. It turns out there are two styles of keyboard that look identical. The space bar from the sage fit in one of the bondi keyboards, but the rest are a mismatch for the other bad keyboard. Live and learn.
Update: I am now convinced that the color I call "Bondi" is actually "Blueberry". The early clamshell iBooks, the Blue & White G3 towers, the 333 tray-load iMacs and the 350 slot-load iMacs all came in blueberry, not bondi. Even though they look at lot more like bondi (in the appearance controls) than blueberry (in the fruity ads)!
