For the past year or so I have been using the older style wireless keyboard from Apple.  I have been quite pleased with it, but after a year of daily use it seemed it was time to replace this.  Since this keyboard is used with my Mac Mini, I headed out to our local Best Buy and picked up one of the new wireless keyboards.  Looking in the aisle you really wouldn’t imagine a keyboard was in a box this this small, but hey, small is what this keyboard is. 

I was a bit hesitant getting the wireless version because I often use the numeric pad and the wireless version doesn’t have that, but the wired version does.  However, I like my desktop to be as clutter-free as possible, so wireless it is!  As usual, Apple keeps it’s packaging to a minimum with the contents just being the keyboard itself, instructions, and a pack of batteries.  The first thing you notice is how thin and light this keyboard is.  Comparing this to my previous Apple keyboard was one of the first things I did, and as you can see in the images below there is quite a difference in size.

The keyboard itself looks like it was pulled right off a MacBook, and feels the same way as well.  It was a bit awkward at first using this keyboard, as my hands seem to cover the entire board, but after a few hours of us that was all behind me.  The keys are smooth and very easy to type with.  One of the things I especially like is the fact that this keyboard is quiet.  Even during a heavy typing session, nobody else in the room would have known I was typing.  Using this with Leopard, the only other thing I had to get used to is the keys for items like activating the Dashboard are now mapped in different locations, but they are clearly marked so it really wasn’t that big of a deal. 

Overall I am very happy with this keyboard.  There really isn’t anything I can complain about other than the lack of a numeric pad.  If you are looking for a compact and light keyboard with Bluetooth capability, then I can highly recommend this product.

Link: Apple Wireless Keyboard

The much anticipated WordPress 2.5 was released earlier today.  This is a pretty significant update and a ton of new features were added, one of the most notable being the redesigned Dashboard.

There are just too many features for me to describe, so just check out the WP 2.5 blog post for all the information.

I updated my personal blog in less than 10 minutes without any problems.

Download: WordPress 2.5

This is a beautiful landscape based animated wallpaper (.dream).  This was created by brenopoubel and be downloaded from the link below.  Windows Vista and Stardock DeskScapes are required to use this.

Download: Poubel Vista

OpenOffice was just updated to version 2.4.0.  This is one of the best, free office suites available.  OpenOffice has a solution for writing, spreadsheets, drawing, presentations, and more.

Link

Microsoft released SP1 for Windows Vista this past week and the reviews seem to be mixed.  Some reviewers say SP1 improves various system performance tests, and others say it does the opposite.  I installed Vista SP1 on my main desktop PC last week, and the installation process was flawless.  As far as any “real world” performance issues, I haven’t noticed anything either way.  On my system, I have had no noticeable performance gains or slowdowns as others have reported.

I haven’t installed SP1 as of yet on my HP laptop, as the SP1 betas I have used kept constantly BSODing my machine.  I was never able to narrow down the culprit, but I am a bit wary about installing it again on this computer.  I might fire up Windows Update tomorrow morning and give it another go, so we will see how that works out then.

Otherwise, my question to the community is have you, Vista users, updated to SP1 yet?

Giveawayoftheday.com has a fantastic piece of software up for grabs today.  Evernote (beta), which is an application that allows you to take notes, web clipping, images, etc. and keep them in order.  This new version (still in beta) also allows you to synchronize your notes with other computers that you have Evernote installed on. 

There is a Mac and Windows Mobile version that is currently in private beta, but you can get access to that as well.  I found this via Lifehacker and they say the current beta will allow you to update to other betas and the final application when released.

Features of Evernote:

• Access notes across multiple platforms: Windows, Mac (OS X 10.5), Web, Windows Mobile, Mobile Web Browser;
• Full synchronization across all platforms;
• Powerful image recognition and search for printed and handwritten text in images;
• Email and MMS snapshots and text from your mobile phone to your personalized Evernote email address;
• Windows and Mac clients allow local-only notebooks, which will not synchronize with the Evernote Service.

Remember, this is good for today only, so there is only a few hours left.

Link:  http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/evernote-beta/

If you are a fan of FPS’s on the Xbox 360, then  you are probably already aware of the upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company.  Fileplanet is taking registrations for the Xbox 360 beta which will feature two maps, and will begin on March 25th.

Details and signup info at the link below.

Link: BF beta signup

SkinStudio 6 was released today! SkinStudio is a free application designed to easily create skins for WindowBlinds for both Windows XP and Vista.

“SkinStudio 6 is a complete rewrite of previous versions of the program. Over time, as the number of elements of Windows that could be changed increased, the older versions of SkinStudio became very complex. SkinStudio 6 is re-designed to provide skinners a step-by-step way of creating their own Windows visual styles that, upon completion, can be applied with WindowBlinds.”

Free version is available, along with the Pro version for $19.95.

Link: SkinStudio 6

I was just browsing through the March issue of PC Magazine and saw that ObjectDock was listed in the "Best Free Software" feature under Application Launchers.

"Windows Organize your application shortcuts in a toolbar that mimics the look and feel of the Macintosh dock, complete with icon animations. It will even mimic Windows Taskbar buttons. Add in extras (docklets) like real-time clock and weather forecasts, even a fully functional Windows Start button and Recycle Bin, to get everything you need."

Link: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2267058,00.asp

I see that many blogs, including my own, use MyBlogLog to track visitors to their sites among other features.  One of the most notable features is the MyBlogLog widget that displays your recent visitors and other info.  I’m sure many of you have seen it on various blogs.  Well I just noticed today that they have updated the widget with a new look and new functionality. 

This was apparently updated in February, but there didn’t seem to be much talk about it, and I still see many people using the old widget so I figured some don’t even know about it.  To get your new widget just log in to your MyBlogLog account and click Widget, and configure and get your new code.

While you are at it, feel free to stop by and join my community as well.

Link: MyBlogLog