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.
OK I'll kick off with a little personal experience.. If you have a problem do a thorough search of the discussion forum on the Mac website. I have had the video card replaced twice on my old iBook despite being out of warranty, and on my MacBook I have had the battery charger, cover and battery all replaced free after discovering that they had known problems, this despite all being out of warranty. All info' I gleaned from the discussion forum. Some years ago I had a software problem (either the mail programme or the address book I forget which), initially the gentleman dealing with my problem actually made things worse, I called back, but part way through the consultation (which wasn't going well) the call was dropped. I called back, and was redirected to a VERY clued up lady in Ireland who solved the problem quicksmart. Now the interesting snippet here was that she said that if you need to make three calls concerning the same problem, you will be redirected to a "level 2" technician who should be more experienced and better placed to solve your problem.
Location: A little world of my own - Planet Spandit
Posts: 532
5 best free software
OK, here is my personal list of 5 bits of software you should download now. They are all free and unrestricted:
1) VLC - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ - this is a media player that allows you to play almost anything. Doesn't restrict you to DVD regions like DVD Player and will allow full screen (goodness know's why Quicktime doesn't - seems like a rip off to me)
2) iStumbler - http://www.istumbler.net/ - lets you find available wireless networks. Don't steal wifi though...
3) Handbrake - http://handbrake.fr/ - lets you rip DVDs onto your hard drive so you can watch them without having to lug discs around. Don't pirate them though, that would be wrong
4) Firefox - http://www.mozilla.org/download.html - not as pretty as Safari but if you are used to it, you can use it on Windows or Linux too. Highly extensible
5) Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/macintosh/ - Macs like to bang on about how great they are for graphics. They don't come as standard with anything that can edit photos. Gimp is like free Photoshop
Open Office 3 is going to fully support the Mac, so no need to pay for Microsoft Office any more!
(The link's just to a brochure - OO3 isn't out for a few months yet.)
Perian is an add-in to Quicktime which will play .mkv files and is WAY better than VLC if you watch anything with soft subtitles.
Flip4Mac is another add-in for Quicktime which plays Windows Media files.
I believe the latest Quicktime does let you view in full screen mode without having to shell out for Quicktime Pro.
"...some of its features are tabs, line numbers, support for syntax colouring for many different languages, functions list, support for text encodings, snippets, a toolbar, a status bar, preview, split window, multi-document find and replace with regular expressions, possibility to show invisible characters, authenticated open and saves, command-line utility, full screen editing and running commands and scripts from within the application."
Right.....Sticky is up and running, Keef's tried to have a bite of the Apple, but was not tempted , other macophiles have kindly informed us of helpful free software and now may i humbly be the first to ask for help to a problem.
Me bluetooth has done a runner.
It was there and now it doesn't seem to exist anymore..... There is a jagged line through the bluetooth symbol and "bluetooth not available" shows when it is clicked upon....I have done nothing out of the ordinary in the last days that might have deleted it from the OS. I checked on the Apple discussions forum and it would seem that it happens to others, one chap recommending that a resetting of the PRAM and NVRAM might be the answer.
, other macophiles have kindly informed us of helpful free software and now may i humbly be the first to ask for help to a problem.
There is a jagged line through the bluetooth symbol and "bluetooth not available" shows when it is clicked upon....I have done nothing out of the ordinary in the last days that might have deleted it from the OS. I checked on the Apple discussions forum and it would seem that it happens to others, one chap recommending that a resetting of the PRAM and NVRAM might be the answer.
