To force quit , hold down the OPTION and APPLE keys and click on the esc key upper left on the keyboard. Are you aware of the Force Quit command under the blue Apple?
That key combination used to work, now I just get a sound suggesting it is an undefined shortcut. As well, when I briefly push the power button, I used to get the option sleep/restart/shut-down the computer. The function is now lost.
It would seem to me that it is a software problem, and that I just need to remove a faulty preference file, or do a similar move. I have tried a number of things (reset PRAM, reset PMU, update firmware, MacJanitor, clean up priviliges, among others). But no luck. Any suggestions?
Again, it used to work fine when I first got my MacBook. I have had Macs since 1988, and this is the first time I see something like this.