Appletell

Macessity has released and has ready for pre-order their new Slimkey V2 Stand for $64.99. This slim, beautifully designed aluminum stand comes with four USB 2.0 ports on the side for easier access than provided by your Mac. This stand can be used to hideaway your slim Apple keyboard when not in use, but it also doubles as a cooler if you use a Apple laptop by getting your machine up and off of the desk. You can also place any monitor that is under 35 pounds on top of the stand.

The stand is powder coated to match your aluminum iMac or Apple display. and comes with a compact power adapter. This seems like a pretty nice accessory to not only clear up some space on your desk when you’re not using your computer, but to look good doing it. If you have used any version of this products, be sure to let us know how they are.

Product [SlimKey V2 Stand]

AssistiveWare, purveyor of many accesability applications for Mac, has officially announced the release of KeyStrokes version 4.1.  KeyStrokes is an on-screen keyboard and word suggestion tool for those with disabilities with a need to use a computer. 

KeyStroke is a great tool for those who cannot use a real keyboard. With an integrated word-prediction tool and LayoutKitchen 2.1.1, users can customize their interfaces and type as fast as they can click. The program is not only attractive for the disabled, but possibly for graphic designers who don’t want to have to switch from a tablet to a real keyboard.

The update, now version 4.1, improves support for universal binary, along with better support for Spaces in Leopard.  It requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later, and carries an MSRP $299.  An upgrade from version 3 or earlier is $99, and the upgrade from v4 to v4.1 is free.  Everything is available on the AssistiveWare website.

Product [KeyStrokes]

Are you finding the traditional keyboard uncomfortable? Or, perhaps you are looking for something a little different for your iMac, MacPro, MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro. If so, you might want to check out Kinesis Corporation innovate keyboard.

Recently, Kinesis unveiled the Kinesis Freestyle Convertible Keyboard. It’s not your traditional keyboard; it actually separates. It’s the first fully separating keyboard designed for Mac users. With the revolutionary Freestyle Solo Keyboard, the user has two accessory options the Freestyle Incline Accessory and the Freestyle VIP accessory.

Details after the break.

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Apple today released Firmware Updates for the Intel iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Aluminum Keyboard.

The firmware updates are available at apple.com and through Software Update. They “[fix] several issues to improve the stability of [the] computers.” The keyboard update addresses an issue with keys repeating themselves wittttttttttttthout warning.

Firmware Updates require a restart and the keyboard update renders your keyboard useless for as much as 5 minutes while it installs, then it, too, requires a restart of your computer. Follow the instructions (usually “Quit Everything, Touch Nothing") to the letter, other wise your computer may get messed up. Potentially REALLY messed up.

Oddly, I downloaded the Firmware Update for my MacBook Pro manually, as Software Update didn’t find it and it told me I didn’t need the update. Is this happening to anyone else?