2005 PowerBook G4 Special Report: Developer Note for 12" model

Apple has posted a Developer Note for the PowerBook G4" (2005) running at 1.5 GHz.

Of particular note is a section describing the new SMS (sudden-motion-sensor) hard drive protection mechanism:

"The Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) helps to detect an accidental drop or fall by sensing a change in position and accelerated movement of the 12-inch PowerBook G4. In the event of a drop, the Mobile Motion Module instantly parks the hard drive heads to help lessen the risk of damage to the hard drive on impact. When the Mobile Motion Module senses that the PowerBook position is once again stable, it unlocks the hard drive heads and the system is up and running within seconds."

Problems with Kensington Trackball One MacFixIt reader reports a connectivity issue with an external, USB trackball manufactured by Kensington.

He writes:

"Got my new PowerBook G4 (2005) 17" this morning. I cannot get my Kensington trackball to see the MouseWorks extension which is clearly installed and visible inside the Extensions folder inside /System/Library. The control panel says that the extension is either not installed or not running. The USB connection is good as the cursor moves. But I cannot program the buttons. The same trackball and software and system has worked perfectly (with other Macs). Kensington said to install a previous version of the software but that didn't work either."

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