The Mighty Mouse has an awful default button mapping. First off, both right and left button are assigned to left-click (primary). Secondly, for some inexplicable reason, clicking the scroll wheel brings up Dashboard. Third, I find the scrolling to be much to slow for my needs.

To fix these problems and any other issues you have with the button layout, open System Preferences and click on Keyboard & Mouse. Then fiddle with the button-mapping as much as you like. Currently, I have it setup so that clicking the scroll wheel brings up the Command+Tab application switcher, and clicking the right half of the mouse brings up the secondary click (right click) menu. I also sped up the scrolling and tracking.

Another possibility is for you to create your own scripts to be assigned to the buttons. Some possibilities include Dictionary lookup and search in Spotlight/Quicksilver

So you just bought the wonderfully tiny MacBook Air and now it won’t turn on, or maybe it doesn’t want to charge the non-replaceable battery. Either way, you probably need to reset the PMU. How do you reset the PMU on your MacBook Air?

In order to reset the PMU of your MacBook Air follow these steps.

1. Turn off MacBook Air.
2. Connect the power adapter and plug it in.
3. On the LEFT side of the keyboard (Yes, the left side only), hold down Shift, Option and Control.
4. Press the power button.
5. Wait 5 seconds, then release all keys.
6. Push power button to turn your MacBook Air back on.

Caution, make sure the MacBook Air is completely shut down before reseting the PMU to avoid damage to your file system.

Brandon Hopkins is the newest writer to join the MacTips team. Everyone give him a warm welcome.

If you’re like me and you manage more than your personal Mac on a regular basis, you’ve probably heard of Mike Bombich’s wonderful time saving program NetRestore. I won’t go into how to use the software, that is for a future date, but for more info you can check out Bombich.com. For now I’m going to show you how you can use NetRestore and not go crazy.

I have the unique responsibility of managing 1,000 Macs. 80% are desktop machines as old as a 400 MHz iMac to brand new Intel iMac’s. 20% are laptops from old school iBook’s to brand new MacBook Pro’s and everything in between. Aside from a variety of types of machines and processors, I also run 10.3.9, 10.4.11, and 10.5.2. With these different machines and operating systems comes the unique challenge of managing about 20 different configurations. That is where NetRestore comes in.

NetRestore allows me to go to a client computer and fix whatever problem they’re having by just holding down the “N” key, which starts the NetRestore process. From there I just choose the configuration I want to install, 10.3.9 iBook G4 for example, and click “Restore”. The computer pulls a new image from the server and installs in. When it’s finished it restarts and you have a brand new OS.

Here is where the time saving features really come in handy. With NetRestore you first create your “perfect” image which you’ll pull down from the server to your client machines. After that image is created and NetRestore is installed, you don’t have to troubleshoot anything!

Yes, go back and read that line again, you don’t have to trouble shoot anything. If you have a problem, you hold down the “N” key and start the NetRestore process. The new image is expanded to the hard drive and a “fresh” installation is on that machine.

So anytime a client has a problem you just NetRestore. Want to install the latest update? Create a new image with the update and NetRestore.

If you don’t have time to walk around to each machine, check back tomorrow and I’ll show you an easy way to NetRestore from the comfort of your bed. That’s right, sit at home in bed and continue working!

The worst thing imaginable happens, your poor MacBook is stolen and is in the hands of a dirty thief. Sometimes insurance will cover the costs for a new laptop, and sometimes you’re just out $1,000+.

But if you installed LoJack before the theft, you may be in luck. LoJack is a software application that runs silently on your Mac. If your laptop is stolen, you call a number and the next time your computer finds a network–it phones home.

Then, the company behind LoJack performs some voodoo to determine where your computer is and calls local law enforcement to retrieve your lost goods. At least that’s the theory.

The best cast scenario is law enforcement is able to recover your laptop and have it back in your hands without a scratch.

Worst case scenario? Well, there’s a few of those.

Thief Wipes Hard-drive Immediately

If the thief formats the hard-drive before connecting to a network, your S.O.L. Some laptops have LoJack installed in their firmware to prevent this, but I don’t believe this is available for the Mac.

Network is Firewalled

Not positive on this one, but logic should prevail here. If the network is firewalled, your Macbook will have trouble calling home. Again, your baby will be lost forever.

ISP Says Buzz Off

If dial-up is used, LoJack is able to determine the phone number and trace the address.

If broadband is being used, the IP will be retrieved and it’s up to the ISP whether they want to give out their customers information. Good luck there.

Law Enforcement Cooperation

The last piece of the puzzle is the cooperation of law enforcement. From what I’ve researched, they seem to be pretty helpful recovering stolen laptops, but this can vary from area to area.

The Ideal Solution

Obviously, the ideal solution would be not having your MacBook stolen in the first place. If you’re in the dorms, lock it down.

It’s still possible to cut through computer locks, but harder for someone to simply walk away with your laptop.

If your in a public place such as a library or cafe–keep your eyes on your laptop. It may seem like a good idea to leave it while you run to the bathroom, but it could end up being the most expensive bathroom visit you’ve ever made.

Also, make sure you backup your data. Your laptop is replaceable. Your data is much harder to replace. Corrupted hard disks aren’t your only enemy, sticky fingers are just as devastating.

Piece of Mind or Snake Oil?

I’ve read some cases where LoJack works exactly as advertised. However, I’ve also read you have a better chance of finding your MacBook going door to door and asking nicely.

Perhaps LoJack should offer an alternative method of blowing up the computer, then scan the hospitals for new burn victims. Find the guy with the Apple branded on his forehead and sue, sue, sue.

On a more serious note, has anyone actually had to use LoJack before? What was your experience?

Also, you could always install TheftSensor (video here) to have an alarm go off if someone moves your laptop.

The other day, I decided that I wanted to recover the hard drive from my old and broken iBook G4. Some of you may be thinking that since the MacBook has an easily accessible hard drive compartment so the iBook must have one as well, I wish this were true. In order to get this hard drive, I had to undo some 30 odd screws and in doing so, stripped a brand new screwdriver to the point of uselessness.

In other words, taking apart a “MacTop” is not an easy process (unless you just want to access the RAM) and most of us will need some sort of help in order to carry out this task. For us, there is PowerBookMedic. They offer free take apart manuals for everything from the MacBook and MacBook Pro, all the way to the lowly iBook Clamshell and the PowerBook G3.

There are many sites which would charge you for these invaluable guides, but PowerBookMedic has provided them to the public, completely free of charge.

These manuals tell you everything you need to know to completely take apart your laptop. However, they are missing a guide for the 14 inch iBook. This is problematic because although it is almost 100% identical to the 12 inch version, there are more screws in more places, some of which are extremely hard to find. They are also lacking one for the MacBook Air.

[PowerBookMedic]

You might be confused by the title of this post, you might be thinking, “I thought that when I close the lid, my computer just goes to sleep and that was that.” , well you’re right. But what you may not be aware of is the fact that there are 2 types of sleep: sleep, and hibernate.

Sleep mode stores your system state on your RAM (this requires a minute amount of battery/power to keep it going). Hibernate stores your system state on your hard disk and does not consume power, but when you open your lid, it takes longer for your computer to start up.

The default setting for your computer (not changeable without this application) is sleep and hibernate. I have concluded that this means your computer will sleep for a certain amount of time, but if you don’t come back in a while, it will hibernate (because when I leave my computer for a few hours, god forbid, it takes like 30 seconds for the unlock dialog to appear).

SmartSleep changes this by letting you choose what you want your computer to do. It lets you choose whether you want it to hibernate exclusively, sleep exclusively, sleep and hibernate (system default), or smart sleep.

Smart sleep mode makes it so that your computer will sleep until it reaches a certain level of battery (default is set at 20% remaining). When it reaches this level, it will automatically go into hibernate mode.

Forcing your computer not to hibernate can save a lot of time, but keep in mind that sleep mode does drain a little battery, so if you’re going on a plane or car ride, hibernate only may be a better choice.

[Product Page: Jinx] via [Lifehacker]

Note: I do not recommend sleep only mode. If your computer runs out of batteries while sleeping, it could damage your hard drive among other things

File this in the same folder as two fingered scrolling. To use this function, place two fingers on the track pad and click whatever you wish to right click. To activate it, go to System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Trackpad, then check “For secondary clicks, place two fingers on the trackpad then click button”.

This is the same computer I have and I must say, it is a phenomenal machine. At this price (exactly the same as the Stanford employee discount) I can safely say that you will not be dissatisfied. Keep in mind though, this is probably an indicator that Apple is about to come out with a new model. But for the people who don’t HAVE to have that multitouch trackpad, this is a killer deal. I recommend you jump on it ASAP.

Note: This site has mixed reviews on reseller’s ratings so proceed with caution

Product Page [Onsale.com ] [image via Apple.com]

This is for those of you (like me) who tend to scratch disc media. To do this, you need a copy of Leopard, an external hard drive or old iPod (more than 6.4 GB) and Disk Utility (you have this, don’t worry).

First, insert the Leopard install DVD. Then open Disk utility. Click “Mac OS X Install DVD” from the box on the left. Then click “New Image” and let it do its thing (this could take a few hours).

In the end, you should have a file that looks like this:

Next, take your Hard Drive/iPod, and format it with Disk Utility. To do this, click on the hard drive, then go to the Erase tab and select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” if it is not already preselected. Then all you need to do is click Erase and confirm you wish to do so

Afterwards, make sure you have your external drive highlighted and then click the Restore tab. Then for “Source” drag in “Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg” and make sure that the destination is still the external hard drive. When all this is confirmed, hit Restore.

Now you’re essentially done if all you wanted to do was back up your copy of Leopard. If you wish to install Leopard, open System Preferences -> Startup Disk, and select the drive you just restored Leopard onto. Then just restart your computer, and follow the installer’s instructions.

 Have you ever been doing a presentation in front of a large audience when all of a sudden, Front Row activates because some wiseguy snuck in an Apple Remote? It’s an embarrassing prank that I’m sure has happened at least once to every Macbook using teacher on the planet. You may have wondered to yourself, “Why did Apple not think of this when they designed this thing in the first place?”. Well, now here’s some good news, they did! Would you expect anything less than perfection from Apple?Pairing your computer with your remote makes it so that your computer responds only to your remote and no one else’s. To do this, just hold your remote a few inches away from the screen and. Then simultaneously hold “Menu” and “Fast Forward”. This has to be done while logged in to an administrative account.To delete the pairing, go to System Preferences -> Security then hit the Unpair button.