Well, I didn't get a chance really to play with all the cool apps on the MacBook Pro on Day 4 as I intended. That exercise is probably left best for the weekend. Instead I focused on integrating the MacBook to work in combination with the monitor, keyboard, and mouse that I use for my Dell laptop PC at work. (Picture coming soon)
The setup required a few peripheral devices: a USB switch, a USB hub, and a free VGA port on the monitor (the Dell laptop uses a DVI port). The keyboard and mouse connects to the USB hub, which in turn connects to the USB switch.
Due to desk space limitations, I wanted to be able to close the clamshell (the lid) of the MacBook and still use it. I bought a stand called a BookArc Desktop Stop, which is a little pricey ($50) but of great quality! It is, as they say, elegant; a good way to not only show off the MacBook but a great way to maximize work space.
The first trick for me though wasn't wiring these together - that part was easy, but trying to figure out how to keep the MacBook from going to sleep once the lid shut. If the lid was open, the USB switch and input selector on the display worked beautiful. In fact, if it was open, I had two desktop screens - with the monitor screen being an extension. This would be fine if desktop space wasn't an issue, but I needed the MacBook cover closed. First, I figured out how to duplicate the screen (rather than an extended screen), but when I closed the lid the MacBook went sleep. "No problem," I thought. This is a default issue with Windows easily rectified by a Control Panel app called "Power Options". I spent a few minutes hunting around a similar utility on the MacBook and found "Energy Saver" - but the tweak I wanted wasn't there. To make a long story short though - I learned that even the lid causes the MacBook to sleep, the mouse (or keyboard I suspect) can wake it up! Once I figured this out - everything worked like a charm.
One note though, the Windows Keyboard that was plugged into the MacBook resulted in a pop-up indicating that the Mac didn't recognize the type of keyboard that was plugged in and needed to know a few things. Just a few clicks and checkboxes marked - and I was good to go. There no issues (or questions) with the Logitech mouse.
The other thing I figured out was how to take screen shots! Windows has Printscreen and Alt-Printscreen. Windows 7 added the "Snipping Tool". MacBook has even more options that I'm still learning about. I plan to share more on that on a future post.
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