Using Windows Keyboard on Mac OS X

There are some beautiful and useful mechanical keyboards on the market but only a few of them are made for Mac. Matias Keyboards have a Mac layout and they also sell mechanical keyboards. But their keyboards are not illuminated. Das Keyboard has some Mac models but they also do not come illuminated. I could not find a Mac layout mechanical keyboard that has not just illuminated keys, but keys for which their colour could be adjusted. Most modern gaming keyboards offer this function.

 

Continue reading “Using Windows Keyboard on Mac OS X”

Using your LEGO Mindstorms RCX on a modern computer

Bringing back your old LEGO Mindstorms RCX to life is easier than you might expect. The bottleneck is being able to communicate with the RCX using the Infrared Communication Tower. Version 1 used a tower that was attached to the computer using the old serial port (RS232) while version 2 used a USB tower. The later is much easier to use these days since most computers still have plugs that are compatible with USB1.1. For this tutorial you will need:

We will setup a virtual machine on your host computer (Mac or PC) and install Windows XP on it. We will then install the original Robotic Invention System (RIS) so that the USB driver is correctly installed. You can then use RIS to program you RCX or you can setup many other programming environments/languages. Another problem you might encounter is that the cables used to connect the sensor and actuators to the RCX have become brittle and the isolation comes off easily. You can still buy some new cables from Bricklink.

Continue reading “Using your LEGO Mindstorms RCX on a modern computer”

Install ICC color profile for projectors in Windows XP

This tutorial shows you how to install an ICC color profile (also known as ICM) for an external projector in Windows XP. Make sure that all color adjustments in the projector itself are switched, so that they do not interfere. Continue reading “Install ICC color profile for projectors in Windows XP”

Installing a printer on Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) in a Windows Environment

The Department of Industrial Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology is using Windows to administrate all printers and servers. Since I am a Mac user, I need to adapt to this environment. The following instructions will hopefully help you installing and using printers in this environment. We will be using Window’s SMB protocol to connect to a printer server that collects all print jobs in a queue before sending it to the actual printer. Continue reading “Installing a printer on Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) in a Windows Environment”

Step-by-step installation of iText on Windows

This tutorial will help you installing iText on Windows. iText allows you to create PDF files from Java. A new and better tutorial on how to run iText with Eclipse is now available. Continue reading “Step-by-step installation of iText on Windows”