Electronics & Computers Deals here!
MacBook (13"): Clicks on trackpad button do not register, possible fix; AirPort disconnects/dropouts
Clicks on trackpad button do not register, possible fix Several posters to Apple's Discussion boards have identified an issue where the MacBook trackpad button does not respond to clicks on every attempt, and/or feels "mushy."
One poster, Alan Van Ryzan, reports that placing a small piece of folded paper at a specific spot on the MacBook's battery bay (underneath the battery) resolves the issue in this case, though we cannot recommended this procedure because operating with foreign objects inside the MacBook could potentially prove hazardous to the machine and potentially void the system warranty.
Other users have reported that simply applying pressure to the same spot -- the circular indentation that lines up with the trackpad button -- allows clicking to occur normally.
If you've experienced a similar issue, please let us know.
AirPort disconnects/dropouts Yesterday we noted that some users are noticing increased wireless signal strength from the MacBook relative to previous Apple notebooks. Unfortunately, a number of users are also reporting more frequent disconnects.
Interestingly, the same users are reporting a lack of similar disconnects when using Windows XP under Boot Camp on MacBooks, indicating potential AirPort software (driver, etc.) issues.
If you are experiencing frequent AirPort dropouts/disconencts with a MacBook, you may want to explore some of the suggestions listed in our tutorial "Improving AirPort reception, avoiding dropouts/lost connectivity, working around card/Base station recognition issues".
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
For more, see our MacBook (13") special report.
Resources
:%20Clicks%20on%20trackpad%20button%20do%20not%20register,%20possible%20fix;%20AirPort%20disconnects/dropouts%20%7C%20MacFixIt%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10331449-263.html){kind=small}
However, that's where the good things end. At least with my router the MacBook will not keep a connection for more than 2 minutes.
I have a trusty Linksys WRT54G 802.11g wireless router and booster with the latest rev of the Satori firmware that I use throughout my house as a WAP-secured access point. I have absolutely no problem with my router on my 12" PowerBook, Dual G5, Roku music server, ThinkPad laptop, and a friend's Dell laptop. I was able to enter my WAP key to connect to my router from the MacBook without issue, and it showed much stronger signal strength than my PowerBook. But after two minutes or so it disconnected without warning. The interesting thing is that my network still shows available in the menubar list, and I can reconnect to it immediately if I manually select it from the menubar. But over time (generally 2 minutes or less) it will just spontaneously disconnect and not reconnect, even though it sees the access point.
I have tried numerous settings to no avail, including enabling/disabling the Airport interface, rebooting, enabling/disabling Interface Robustness, changing Airport settings to "Keep Looking for Recent Networks", "Automatically connect to Preferred Networks", deleting then re-establishing my network settings, recycling the power on the router, and even changing the router broadcast channel (funny that I'm the only router in my area that has changed from the default channel 6, so I'm not colliding with other networks).
Clearly there is a problem here, at least with non-Apple routers.