Computer/Internet Issues & TroubleshootingAnyone with questions about the terribly complex world of computers or the internet should try here. We will also try and help with troubleshooting any technical problems you may have with the forums.
I am sure most of you already know this, but if you do not, this is a very nifty trick:
If you want to create a new note in Stickies from a text selection in another application, first highlight the text you want to include, and then type Command-Shift-Y. Stickies will launch automatically and create a new note with your text selection already in place.
Haven't been here in a while - it's great to see the Mac corner!
A similarly useful trick to seekayess's one above is to highlight text, then hold the (left) mouse button down and simply drag to the Desktop.
A 'text clipping' icon will appear on the Desktop, named with the first few words of the text you selected. This can then be dragged and dropped into most applications that can process text (including reply to thread boxes on forums).
So great for researchers, anyone preparing a presentation, for example; but unfortunately also of use to cut & paste intellectuals
I need to buy a new desktop. I have a Macbook and an iPhone - so am Mac literate at this stage, but would appreciate your views on it.
Budget is unlimited however, I am not one to spend unnecessarily on something.
I will be using Powerpoint and Abode CS3 with a lot of activity on Flash and Dreamweaver for creating CBT packages for students. There will also be a ton of video work using mostly Final Draft.
I will need a MASSIVE screen where I can lay out multiple windows without having to constantly resize them. My workflows can be a bit haphazard at times and I have a tendency to jump back two or three steps in a design process to re-jig things before I am happy.
The new machine will be a Mac. There is not a snowball's chance in hell of it being a PC. It will need to be fast and have first rate graphics quality.
The decision that I am faced with is: Should I go for the 24" iMac stuffed to the rivets with RAM and brain power? Or, go for a Mac Pro with a third-party screen that is larger (not sure how big they go in design houses but the screen size is an important concern).
The iMac 24" will do everything you need, performance-wise.*The only question is whether the screen size will be big enough. You could run a 30" screen off the iMac if 24" didn't prove enough – it has a mini-DVI port on the back. Despite having either a 256Mb or 512Mb graphics card, it won't be able to support the full resolution of the 30" screen (2560x1600) as mini-DVI only supports up to 1920x1200 dpi.
So, if you want a 30" screen at maximum resolution, the only way is to get a Mac Pro (or run it off a MacBook Pro ).
Have you investigated Spaces in Leopard regarding your window layouts? It might be an answer to using up screen real estate.
I'm running Tiger at the moment on the MacBook but will upgrade it to Leopard with the new system. Spaces is a nice idea but I need to able to see each screen as I work between them - I'm awkward like that. The screen space becomes necessary when I am designing Authorware for example and am making sure it all matches up on Keynote or whatever manuals I am constructing to ensure the whole lot is seamlessly integrated.
Location: Stuck between the Animal Bar and the Suave Bar
Posts: 413
A computer that's "stuffed to the rivets" on day one has nowhere to go to accomodate additional demands from the software or the user.
Why not a MacPro, and one or two 30" displays ?
You can always add more displays and multiple graphics cards to get truly huge screen real-estate. It also gives you good options for adding memory and disc space as software updates get hungrier.
It's just a good way to start at a realistic price point, but not hamstring what you might want to do in the foreseeable future.
my 2 cents - been working professionally with Macs, on the creative side, for over 15 years and have always gone with the Pro version. Perhaps the all-in-1 jobbies might work, but I can't afford to take the chance. So ... I would suggest to get the Pro, buy 1 BIG screen (30" as linked to, or the Apple Cinema Display one) PLUS and additional smaller screen (23"?). What I tend to do is use my main screen for key work, and dump all secondary control panels to the second screen.
My needs are relatively low-level. I was happy with my Macbook but got tired of the software limitations. Sold it and bought a basic Dell PC which does what I need, but insisted on XP.
Now the Imac has 2..3..4..5..6 dead pixel lines down the screen. No hope of buying a nice cheap monitor replacement here folks; there goes my computer. A boat anchor.
Has anyone tried Crossover yet? I run Parallels/Windows XP on my iMac - with ok-ish results. I am about about to replace my aging iBook with a MacBook and read about Crossover on the MacNN forum. I only need to run Skylog Pro, Garmin and Nokia stuff on the laptop and can't see the need for a full version of XP if Crossover will do the job.
(Oh - and the company FCOMs via Adobe that don't run properly on a Mac! Danny - have you got a fix for this yet?)
Best things is to check the CodeWeavers website for which applications are supported or not. Not everything is tested, but at least you'll be able to see if you'd be totally wasting your time or not. Some programs for instance have been tested, and are known not to work. Something that hasn't been tested might work, and you could try for yourself. Codeweavers Compatibility List
Sensitive little buggers these Macs. Must have heard me telling it to get stuffed so it did.
To wit, I can't get any desktop icons on bootup. When I startup I get the normal sound, then the apple icon in the centrre of the screen, then the Starting Mac-OSX graphic, so far so good. Then eventually the mouse arrow moves to the top left of the screen where a message appears:
Darwin/BSD (Local Host) (Console) Login
Whenever I try to enter the only login or password I can remember having, a very quick message flashes up saying Login Incorrect then something else which disappears too quickly for me to read it, and the blank desktop appears together with the cogwheel spinning away endlessly.
In one of my many attempts, prompted by what action I can't remember I got the following error message
Could not create Disk Rrb session or approval session.
Not having anything to click a mouse on leaves me in a spot of bother.
I wonder, thinks I, what will happen if I boot up with the OSX installation disc in the slot. Buggerall happened that's what, except the eject button doesn't work so the installation disk is still in there.
This problem didn't occur after my doing anything in particular, no upgrades etc, just out of the blue.
iMac G5, Tiger 9 initially installed, latest upgrade I think was 10.4.1.
I tried a couple of Mac forums but apart from bootup, login, desktop etc I couldn't think of what search terms to enter. If any of the experts here have any suggestions or references to a good support forum I would appreciate it. I just want to rescue the information from the hard drive, so just getting to the desktop would be a nice start. Or am I too late?
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