Trackpad Erratic Insanity; Stay away from Fluorescent Tubes, EMI!

Yesterday I was helping a friend with her new 13" Aluminum MacBook. She sat the MacBook down on one of the glass display cases in her gift store. We fired up the computer only to find that the trackpad had gone totally nuts. I could get the pointer to move only a tiny amount. Clicking caused very strange behavoiur such as bringing up the "right click" menu, and activating Expose'. Luckily, we had a Kensington mouse handy; the mouse worked just fine. Because our friend had just installed some new software, I repaired Permissions and scanned the hard drive via Disk Utilities & rebooted. Trackpad still useless, I moved the laptop to a counter near the phone so I could call Apple Tech Support. While I was dialing in and on hold, I noticed that the trackpad seemed to be working normally. After scratching my head in disbelief, I noticed that there was a 4' Fluorescent lamp in a bezel at the upper front of the glass display case to illuminate the case's contents. Relocating the MacBook to its original position on the glass case duplicated the original Trackpad disfunction. I informed the Tech Support person of the incident so she could add it to Apple's troubleshooting database, and also suggested that she needed to inform Apple's Engineering/QA departments so they could do further testing, etc. Luckily no apparent damage was done to the computer, but it easily could have. Moral of the story: KEEP YOUR MACBOOK AWAY FROM SOURCES OF STRONG ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE, such as fluorescent or neon lamps, motors, etc. Even though I have figured out this problem, I thought it would be very helpful to make this post.
Best to you all!

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When I touch the trackpad the cursor jumps away from the bubble.

I thought this might be a bug, but I'm not sure anymore. I have Sophos for Mac and it hasn't noted any problems. What happens is that when I initiate a tap on the trackpad the cursor jumps away from the item or bubble I am trying to tap. It is annoying but not bothersome enough to ruminate about. I'm wondering if anyone has had this problem?

Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.
Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.
Isolating an issue by using another user account
If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application unistaller. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.
Safe Mode
Safe Mode - About
General information.
Isolating issues in Mac OS X
Troubleshooting Permission Issues
Step by Step to Fix Your Mac

EA6500 worst experience - stay away from this router

Hi Everyone,
EA64500 is worst, stay away from this router, since last 2 days I spend more than 4 hours with Linksys support and it is useless ans wastage of time.
I am going to return this junk to Costco. It works for 2 months only after spending hundreds of dollars. It sounds rosy but the product is crep.
Check out real problem at following link
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/05/12/linksys-ea6500-wireless-router-a-beast-to-set-up-but-then-wo...

There are many reasons why a connection could be intermittent. It might be because the connection to the ISP is unstable, to much wireless traffic, frequency interference from other wireless devices, physical obstructions or corrupted router firmware.
The location where your wireless router and computer are placed affects the performance of your wireless network. To boost the wireless signal, it is ideal to place the wireless router either in the central part of your house or in a location free from any obstructions that may block its range. The frequency used by your router’s wireless network can be set to 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or Mixed. Interference happens if there is conflict with some wireless devices that are also using the same frequency within your network. The most common examples of devices that use the same frequency are cordless phones, microwave ovens, and baby monitors. Another factor that could cause interference would be a separate wireless network which operates in the same frequency as your routers.
If all computers connected to the router are experiencing intermittent connections, it would be best to observe the connection straight from the modem. Observe it for 24 hours and if there are no issues then best to upgrade the router’s firmware.

Are you a Veteran? Stay away from Verizon!

If you are veteran hoping to get a 15% discount from Verizon then stay the heck away. You won't get it. Go with AT&T who will give it to you. I'm regretting switching over.
Went into official Verizon store with DD214 in hand. Verizon agent scanned document, assured me I would get the 15% discount on my plan immediately. I actually asked two more times just to be sure. She assured me each time. Verizon site says I am verified.
First bill came, no discount. I called Verizon and they said it can take 30 days. Upset me a bit but I waited.
Second bill came, no discount. Chatted with a Verizon representative who said my plan is not eligible. I checked my plan details. Nothing written there about it being in-eligible. Checked the Veteran Discount FAQ and it specifically states: Note: some plans and features are not eligible for discounts and that limitation will be called out in the plan details. However, my plan details say nothing of the sort. The agent could not give me the discount and just kept repeating that my plan was not eligible for the discount.
So even though I was promised the discount from a Verizon Wireless Agent at an official store and my plan does not say anything about me being in-eligible, Verizon has refused to give me the discount due to very arbitrary wording. They even have a link that is suppose to show you in-eligible plans but it does not work. The representative told me that they change the eligible plans all the time. So even if I got the discount they would probably just change the eligibility in the future.
I was about to recommend a few other veterans to move over to Verizon but now I am telling them to go somewhere else. I should inform the local Department of Veteran Affairs here so they can properly inform any veteran that might call in and ask.
Verizon should be pretty ashamed of themselves.
My Plan: Single Line $60 - 2GB

I Totally AGREE...STAY AWAY FROM VERIZON!! Work for Fed Govt, DoD....according to Verizon's rules, Qualified for the Employee Discount....NOT.....Previously worked for Kroger...applied for the employee discount as a Kroger Employee and the discount never showed up on the billing....Customer service WAS NO HELP....signed up with a Verizon Rep at one of their stores.....Go Figure...Now signed up for employee discount (GOVT) over the net. Said was eligible...After signed up called to verify the discount..Rep said , Oh, you're not qualified?????? I hope that you get your issue resolved. You would think that being you are ACTIVE DUTY...and....service our wonderful COUNTRY (US) that Verizon would even be more helpful and courteous to you, as an Active Duty Service person!!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU...AS FOR ME....As soon as my contract is up, AUG 14, 2011 ( I Can't WAIT)...I'm changing over to SPRINT....Several co-workers use SPRINT...love the service and told me that there are NO HASSELS about giving the US GOVT EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT....{please keep your posts courteous}....SPRINT ROCKS!!
Signed...Disgruntled customer

Sisoftware Sandra: Is there a reason to stay away from this software?

I have not noticed Sisoftware Sandra recommended by folks on this website.
Is there a reason I should stay away from Sandra?

I suppose, there is no real reason to stay away from it. The point is, I believe, that it is in general not as popular as (let's say) tool like Everest/Aida, HW Monitor, CPU-Z, GPU-Z, Core Temp, Real Temp and the like.

Stay away from BT - my personal experience

Hi,
My name is Rubens Kubiak, joined BT on 22nd March. So far, BT has been the worst ISP I've ever seen - by far.
I placed the order through phone.... decided about the broadband package and landline calling plan, perfect.
A few days later, I called BT to inform that the starter package should be delivered in my office, as I would be away from home (where the broadband would be installed). I received a phone call and an email confirming the change, and the package would be delivered then to my office address.
What a surprise? Nothing arrived in my office. They tried to deliver it.... at my home. Unbelievable, with all the planning beforehand, phone calls and e-mails and confirmations. A really bad start.
I just managed to get the package in the Post Office by saturday (23rd). Installed and everything was working fine.... for about one hour. Then... got disconnected. About three minutes, no internet. Then, since 23rd March, every single day I got disconnected about 10 times a day. It lasts about 2 or 3 minutes, but is really annoying for a service that is not cheap and should work smoothly. Now the best part. Try to call BT. Try to reach the technical support. IT IS A JOKE. During the day, takes about 30 minutes (if you're veeery lucky) to speak to a human being. Today I waited 1h40min.... with no answer at all.
Well.... P2P connections (torrent, etc) are also highly controlled by BT, and is practically impossible to download a file. The speeds are really low. Fine, I agree with the policy, so everybody can have a good connection. But nobody tells you that when you're purchasing the broadband via phone. Even when you tell the operator that you want a complete and unlimited package because you download too much. They should have been decent and tell the facts straight away! They should have explained me that.... don't you think BT?
Now, speaking with the tech support.... they told me that's normal during the first two weeks or twenty days the connection being unstable..... it's a period of stabilisation. Period of stabilization? When purchasing the package through phone, nobody ever alerted me about this facts. They told me now, that I'm facing the problem. Not good, BT.
Now they told me to wait until 5th or 6th of April to see if the problem is solved. What is that? I'm paying for a product...... that nobody told me would be unstable for a while..... and why on earth should I be patient?
I hate things like this..... loads of excuses.
I purchased a product, and I'm not happy at all...... delivery was a joke, the seller hid important facts about the service, and now the best part: trying to explain I'm not happy at all, and want to cancel the whole stuff. I've been a customer for 5 days..... and just want to ship the equipment back, pay for the month I've used and forget about BT.
But..... mo make me feeling like a clown, BT wants to charge me THREE HUNDRED SIXTY SOMETHING for cancelling the service.... as contract cancellation fee.
C'mon BT. You guys should be ashamed! Anyway.... BT is not authorized anymore in my bank account. I'll pay for the installation, for the service I've used.... but I'm not going to pay any kind of cancellation charge.
It's been less than a week I'm a customer..... and already a unhappy one. I just want to forget BT and go for another ISP.
Well... that's my personal experience, and my personal thoughts....sorry about being rude sometimes.... but BT is driving me crazy here!
I'm moving away from BT by the end of the month, maximum....... anyone experiencing the same problem????

Hi rubenskc
I can understand that you are annoyed about the delivery and if you didnt know about the stabiisation period.
The stabilisation period really should have been explained on the call, but as others have posted, its an important part of activation in order to get the best speed from your line.
Best to leave the hub alone to do its thing and dont be tempted to reset. Have you noticed any improvements since it was activated?
Thx
Craig
BTCare Community Mod
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Software Updates.....STAY AWAY FROM THEM !!!

Hi all.
I've just been reading most of the threads here for a couple of days and I see a pattern developing with people having trouble with their set ups after they have done a software update, either O.S or Software. My advice from personal experiance is once you have found both O.S and Logic versions that work sweetly together, do NOT bother with updates ever again. If you want to have up to date Operating systems for other tasks apart from Logic, buy another machine for this and leave your machine that you work on alone !!!
I did 2 Albums on an iMac G4 running 10.4.11 running Logic 6.4.1. Disconnect your studio machine away from the internet and let it be
Have fun

The issue is not never update - system updates always cause issues - settings get changed that affect the running of your apps, your other software may need to be upgraded to fully utilise the system update, and, at times, the update itself may be at fault. I know folks who love updates, and love solving the problems that they bring up to get everything working even better than before.
But I'm not one of those.I like stuff that just works and whilst I'm pretty handy, I'm not one of those techno geeks that loves the deep inner workings of my system. The issue is, if you have a system that works, don't mess with it, particularly not, as has been pointed out, in the middle of an important project.
Equally however, have recently taken to using time-machine. After the 10.5.3 upgrade I started having problems with Logic 7.2 that I never had before, and some Airport issues. I just reverted back to the same 10.5.2 settings I had previously using the time machine back up and presto, problems solved.

Horrible, stay away from fios.

My bill was accidentally changed through my remote. Customer service told me they could get my plan back but it would be more expensive because they no longer offer it. I had it yesterday. When I mentioned it was an accident all they did was suggest putting a lock, well great but that doesn't help me. Now my bill has increased for the same services and will increase again in 1 year and I'm stuck for 2 years. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. No help, basically made it my fault and now I'm stuck. After these 2 years I'm switching back to Comcast, Ive had Fios for 4 months and have had nothing but trouble. My suggestion, don't be inticed by the pricing, it'll come back to bite you.

I agree. I called Fios 3 times to lower my TV bill with no success. I moved to DirectTV and called to cancel then Verizon offered me a discount to stay.
I asked for a discount for my Internet and Phone. The Customer Service rep was rude and tried to lock me into a 2 year contract with no discount or promotional price. Dont let them bully you into a contract. I am staying for now, month to month, until I can get my wife's email migrated. I can get the same service from Cable for 1/2 the price with no contract or equipment fees.
I will be switching to Optimum in a few months.
Verizon just does not value long term customers until they are gone.

Charged for no service - STAY AWAY FROM BT THEY AR...

Ok so I decided to sign up for BT Infinity and tv package with BT sports in January. Was due to be installed on 23/01/2015.
I booked a half day off work for the installation and was impressed when the landline engineer called at 1.30pm. He told me that he was only doing the landline and another engineer would probably be out to do the TV.
Landline engineer worked away on the line and about 2.00pm I had a call from the TV engineer to say there was a fault in the line so would not be installing my tv. When I asked when he could install it he just said I don't know. From his attitude I could tell he wasn't bothered it was a Friday after noon so he just wanted to go home.
I was really annoyed with this as I had picked the Friday specifically and waited 3 weeks for installation for that Friday. I rang BT and asked them what was happening, I asked if he could come out on a Saturday to install the TV but I was told no they dont do Saturday installations. So I decided I wasnt going to go ahead with my installation and cancelled my order.
I was told to tell the landline engineer to leave as I was cancelling. I spoke to landline engineer and told him what I was doing. He then said he would speak to them as he was at the box the same time as the TV engineer and he didnt see any fault. The engineer spoke to customer services and told them I was cancelling my order.
As far as I was concerned that was it. My order was cancelled I was getting my refund of £90.71 and I would receive a bag to send the equipment back.
In February I received a bill for £22.41, I rang customer services as I still hadn't received my £90.71 and now they were billing me for a service I didn't ever have.
Result of call I got my £90.51 back and heard no more, great I thought that was easily sorted.
Wrong in March I got a final reminder for payment of £22.41, again I rang the lovely people in customer service and spoke to a very confused man who kept asking why I was being billed, this I thought was very amusing as that was my question to him. He said leave it with him and he would call my number back in 30 minutes. Guess what 30 minutes no call.
In my stupidity I assumed it had been sorted.
Last week I get a message from BPO to say ring this number immediately regarding BT. I rang the number and was put through to the most arrogant and ignorant woman I have ever had the misfortune to speak to.
I tried to explain my situation but she kept talking over me and in the end she said tough I was being billed for BT Sports as this should have been cancelled seperately. I told her noone ever explained that to me in all my communications with BT and she wasnt interested just advised me to pay up.
So today I rang BT to ask why this had gone to collections and what was my bill of £22.41 for. The nice lady told me she would look into it and transferred me to another nice lady. The 2nd nice lady said I should have contacted them before today!! I said I did and nothing happened. She explained that the £22.41 was for my landline charge. When I said I cancelled the day of the connection she said I needed to ring the nice people in BPO again as there was nothing she could do.
So now I have an outstanding bill of £22.41 plus admin fees of £5.60 from BT for nothing. BT think I just need to pay it and go away. Well as you can imagine I am fuming.
DO NOT USE BT AS THEY ARE THIEVES.

@dmcnamara087
Please use the 'contact the mods' link in my forum profile under the 'about me' section to send in your details. You can find the link by clicking on my username.
Thanks
Neil
BTCare Community Mod
If we have asked you to email us with your details, please make sure you are logged in to the forum, otherwise you will not be able to see our ‘Contact Us’ link within our profiles.
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Stay away from adobe!

Dear Gawd Run!! Do NOT come near Adobe!!
I purchased the CS6 Master Suite a couple of years ago, and it was spotty at best, but it eventually got the job done. Then my hard drive crashed. I was told that I could install CS6 on a second computer and so I tried, and tried and tried. That is where the nightmare began... On my new computer I tried to download the Suite from the original disk, but after hours of the download process I received a pop-up stating that the launch link was now obsolete. I received another link that lead to the adobe website that promoted more junk for me to buy, i.e. business programs, etc. I did not need any of that stuff, so I tried to contact tech support, which was a complete joke! The site ask you run-around questions, try to sell you more useless products (that probably don't work either), and eventually lead you to the community forums that are run by know-nothings, and other ripped-off customers like me.
Try as I might, I could not get past the community forums. I tried calling the company phone number and was given three options, one was to talk to someone in India that was "trained exclusively about the CC," judging by the sound of their voice (yes, I called several times). The other two options were about CS6 and were far worse-- I was told that tech support for these systems were obsolete and I was abruptly hung up on. I have dealt with many other systems that had tech support that wasn't very helpful, and others that put me on hold for a looooong time, but never any that basically said "you are out of luck," click.
But I did not give up. I called back and talked to the Indian support that knew absolutely nothing about anything. They did tell me that my serial number was still valid. So I returned to the official site and tried to download the free trial version. The instructions have to be followed EXACTLY. To. The. Letter. Or. They. Will. NOT. Work. After several attempts, and many "Access Denied," pop-ups, it finally downloaded. But you guessed it! I was taken to a page that stated the launch link is obsolete... and tech help went in huge circles until I found myself back in the community forums.
Nobody but nobody has any idea what new launch software I need to buy or download. I finally gave up and signed up for the CC, also called the Creative Cloud. What another joke! I only use the software to make unfunny videos on youtube at my own expense, so it makes no sense to sign up for a year contract and a monthly fee to fund a company like adobe that is only the king of hassle and run-around.
To make matters worse, I gave them my account information and agreed to a withdraw every month on the fifteenth. However, my rent is now due in the middle of the month, so adobe sends reminders to my e-mail, back-up e-mail, and phone that they have not been paid. So I tried to edit my payment schedule on their site.... and surprise! You are not allowed to make any changes! Now every month I have to realign and "update" my bank account.
Oh, well. If adobe wants more money from me they can go online and complain in a forum. I am now deaf to their stupidity... and out a couple thousand dollars.

LOL.
I love where the article says:
"Does anyone besides me think that anything that continues to have so many things to fix each quarter, month, or whatever the interval is chosen, is not very well written?"
So, does that mean we better ditch all forms of the Windows OS?
That statement alone takes away the authors credibility in my book.
(and by the way, I have very little issues with Reader nor any other product of Adobe)

List ram to stay away from .

so i made some changes to the guide and i was thinking
maybe it would be good to list some ram to avoid,
as well, as if have seen a few frustrated poeple, who couldn't get a particular type of ram to work at all.
or any additions or corrections you would like to see in the unofficial guide ,
please re-read/skim it though as i have made some minor changes.
all comments corrctions welcome...
need more info here....., rearange the order.....etc.

OK, back to southmike's intention for this thread:
I had problems with 2 previous sets of RAM in my 6702.
1) Corsair TWINX 1024-3200C2PRO RT (2x512) (with the pretty blinkenlites)
Worked great out of the box on auto settings under BIOS 1.2, lights were pretty and everything. Then after about 2 weeks, no post with the D-Bracket showing "Memory Detection Test" and the once pretty blinkenlites looked like they had a stroke. No OC or anything, just up and died, so they got returned for a refund. I couldn't wait for an RMA, so I headed up to my local BestBuy and purchased...
2) 2x Kingston ValuRam 512MB 333MHz DDR PC2700 DIMM CL2.5
On auto settings, all I can say about this memory is *OUCH* *YIKES* *PAIN*. ALL of my games crashed to desktop or worse. The Prime95 torture test wouldn't run for 2 minutes, memtest86 was absoulutely ate up with errors, but it works fabulously in my old XP1700+.
Now, I'm not your average moron when it comes to building systems... I'm an *exceptional* moron. I *tried* to find the memory that was listed on the "approved" list, but I couldn't find their exact models listed on newegg (or anywhere that was easy to order from). I finally settled on the Kingston HyperX in my sig. Running at DDR400 and all is extremely happy. I love my blue beast.
DZ

STAY AWAY FROM Dualphone 4088 AND CHAT&VISION

The phone itself is ok, it just probably will stop working in few months and the seller skype recomends, Chat&Vision is a fraud, they just get the money and disappear. I have a broken phone and I spent weeks trying to have it replaced, but is impossible, they don't even reply to email.
Just do yourself a favor and don't ever buy anything from chat&vision ever!!!

Hi simonebruno,
I am sorry to hear of your experience with our company.
May I ask if you have checked your junk folder? It might be that our email was diverted there which has been the case for some of our customers especially those using a work email. If our emails are being diverted to your junk folder, kindly add domain "ChatandVision" to your mail box whitelist.
Should you not have received an email reply, simply provide me with your order number? I will review your case and come back to you as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
ChatandVision Ltd.

N200, buggy as hell. For those looking for an MP3, stay away from Creati

I have already encountered the same two bug twice. It works after reformating the whole thing, but after pressing some volume buttons (by the way, my minus volume button gets stuck sometimes) the folders gets messed up. I have the most recent firmware. N200 is a really, REALLY bad product. Dont forget to mention the sound it makes when backlit is on, it is damaging to the ears.

Bloodangel05 wrote:
My freind has one and it works fine
I also have a friend with this product and they love it - they've had no problems whatsoever.

Poor Customer Service!! Stay away from Verizon!

Do not contact Verizon online chat, they will tell you one thing, then when you get in the store(no matter how fair you have to drive) you will be told something different. And when asked why a verizon rep would/could tell you the wrong thing and not be held accountable, you only get.. sorry we can only do X.. when you was clearly told Y. I have been a verizon customer since 2009, and WILL NOT CONTINUE SERVICE. If you are not a verizon customer now, LOOK ELSEWHERE! Even at 5 full years over service, my bill is always over 250 bucks(with 5 phones).. that is 250*12*5= OVER $15,000!!! Dollars spend on this company, would think that would earn you some form of respect!

Hello njackson82!
I'm sorry for any miscommunication or confusion regarding your account with us. I don't want to lose you and would love to make things right. Please elaborate on the issue at hand. We'll be happy to help, and I assure you that we will provide you with 100% correct information.
ChristinaB_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

Aligning rotated text away from spine

I am creating a directory which rotated text towards the edge of the page. This is so that people can thumb through it and quickly get to their section of interest. When I insert a page, the edge becomes spine. I need the text box to automatically turn 180 and move towards the edge. Is this possible?

If I'm understanding you, you can cause such a frame stay away from the spine if you make it an anchored object which is anchored to the text which includes the faculty email. In Object > Anchored Object Options, you need to choose the Relative to Spine option. I made the text of the faculty page red to see what happens when a page is added. Here's the way it's created. You can see where it's anchored because I turned on View > Extras > Show Text Threads. The frame is anchored at the beginning of a paragraph.
After adding a page the anchored object stays away from the spine:
However, I think you'd have to manually rotate the frame (unless it could be done with a script). The text frame is oriented in the same direction on both left and right pages.

Trackpad Erratic Insanity; Stay away from Fluorescent Tubes, EMI!

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