Apple stuff - Mac, iPad, iphone

[Saab Dastard]

This thread is for Apple and Mac users to share hints, tips, problems, solutions and advice.

If you don't like Apple, stay out!

SD

[Keef]

Helllloooo ... anyone in?

[Capt Chambo]

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.

[Richard Spandit]

Here's a tip - don't drop your Macbook onto a tiled floor. The hard drive doesn't like it

[Richard Spandit]

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


For many other recommendations, try http://www.opensourcemac.org/

[Dop]

Open Office 3 (http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2007/programme/wednesday_186.pdf) 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 (http://perian.org/) 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 (http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm) 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.

[Big Bad D]

Totally agree with all the previous recommendations and would add the following useful free utilities:

Onyx (www.titanium.free.fr/pgs2/english/download.html) is a free tool for occasional maintenance and cleaning out of cache files.

Stuffit Expander (my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffitexpander) is a free tool for expansion of various compressed file formats.

Useful websites for support help and news of the latest updates are:

www.macfixit.com
www.macintouch.com

[Capt Chambo]

Flight simulator on Google Earth.......
Google Earth>Tools>Enter Flight Simulator>Enjoy!

[Jet II]

NeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php) is a version of OpenOffice especially designed for Mac's

[TightSlot]

iSquint (http://www.isquint.org/) - converts all video formats into mp4 (itunes and ipod) format, efficiently and without fuss.

I was so impressed that I paid for the upgrade (£11 approx) to VisualHub and have never looked back.

Skitch (http://plasq.com/skitch) - from plasq.com(the people who gave you Comic Life) - lots of fun and more useful than you may imagine!

[Beatriz Fontana]

I can highly recommend Firefox. I've run it for years alongside Tiger and Leopard. No issues at all and a world of difference from Safari.


Thanks for the links to the free stuff, I've been after some of those!

Bea

[Background Noise]

I find iphoto buddy (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/imaging_3d/iphotobuddy.html) really useful as an add-on to iphoto - it allows you to use different photo libraries.

Lots of useful downloads from apple's own dowload section (http://www.apple.com/downloads/)

[Mac the Knife]

Peter Borg's "Smultron" - http://smultron.sourceforge.net/ - is an excellent free text editor.

"...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."

http://smultron.sourceforge.net/screenshot1.png

Mac

[mdc]

X86 Virtualiser, free for personal use, currently in beta for Mac, availble to download from:
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

[SpringHeeledJack]

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.....:ooh: 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.

Does anyone have any recommendations/ advice ?


Regards


SHJ

[seekayess]

I operate with an iBook G4 laptop.

Can anyone please tell me where I could find the necessary software to 'jailbreak', or 'unlock' an iPhone?

Ta!!!

[hellsbrink]

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/08/08/iphone-hacking-101-jailbreaking/

is one suggestion, along with

http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/11/09/unlock.for.iphone.v112/

and

http://blog.gadgetlite.com/2008/01/28/official-iphone-ipod-touch-113-jailbreak-from-dev-team-released/

[seekayess]

HadesEdge


Thanks a bunch! Been to all the URLs that you have suggested.


The first one has not worked out: I found too many 'ifs' and 'buts' there!! And then, there was some other issue there which confused me!!

Am reading up on the second suggestion right now.

Look: I did not mention this earlier, but I am bit of a 'virgin' in using these fiddling sites etc!! :hmm::hmm:


However, thanks very much indeed!


When I actually try and tackle the iPhone, will surely report back on the results!! :ok:

[lekkerste]

Is here: http://www.downloadziphone.org/

I used it to unlock my UK iPhone. It is idiot proof. Just tick jailbreak, activate and unlock.

[seekayess]

lekkerste


Someone from Apple has obviously been wised up about this!! :ugh::ugh:


When I click on the download for Mac option, I get the computerese goobledygook instead of a d/l file!! :confused::confused:


And then, the Safari goes into a hang!!:{:{

[MacBoero]

If, heaven forbid, your 'out of warranty' Apple product fails and needs a repair. Those of you with some technical skill may find this site useful:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/

Here you can find step-by-step guides on how to do various tasks with all manner of Apple bits of kit:

e.g.
To change a hard drive in a 17" 1GHz PowerBook G4...
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G4-Al-17-Inch/HD-Replacement/55/6/


or

How to install a Bluetooth board into a Core 2 Duo MacBook...
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook-Core-2-Duo/Bluetooth-Board/116/22/

Its an American site, so although they do sell individual spare parts, it may be difficult or expensive to get them shipped to the UK. I have used the following UK suppliers in the past:

http://www.applemacparts.co.uk
http://www.thebookyard.com/

Parts aren't cheap though, as I suspect they come from broken machines, and therefore in short supply.

:ok:

[lekkerste]

Seekayess, I've just tried the link out and it works. I'm using Safari on a macintel. If you click on the mac choice on the link, you should see the download start. The file is called ZiPhoneOSX-2.4tbz. If after clicking on the download link nothing happens, click on Window->Downloads and the download window should appear, which will enable you to follow the progress of the DL file. It takes about 3 minutes on an 8Mbps connection.

Double click on the .tbz file and it should unzip automatically. The application is called ZiPhoneOSX. If you open this, it should hopefully be plain sailing from there. Let me know what happens.

[seekayess]

lekkerste

:{:{



There is something definitely fishy in the state of Denmark!!



Was enthused by your response, so tried again -- same results!! Took a screen shot to post it here to show you what results I get, but PhotoF*ckit won't let me upload!!


You figure it would be possible for you to send the zip file to me via email? Would really be thankful: [email protected]


Thanx in anticipation
:)

[Jet II]

seekayess did you manage to get a copy of the file you were after?

[seekayess]

Jet II



Pls see my post above yours.



Every time I try and click on the d/l icon for the mac, it promptly dowloads a whole lot of computer language instead of a file.


I have tried this about four times now, but no joy! Very frustrating indeed!!


I have a request from lekkerste pending where I have requested him to please email me the necessary file -- he has, possibly, not had the time to look at this thread for a couple of days, I guess.


You figure you can help me on this?


It would be highly appreciated if you would! :ok::ok:

[Jet II]

seekayess

go here (http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=675) - this has the instructions for unlocking the phone and a link to Rapidshare who host the program.

Direct link to Rapidshare (http://rapidshare.com/files/92745220/ZiPhoneOSX-2.4.tbz.html)


If you are still having problems let me know and I will find a way to send the program to you - it is 9MB

[seekayess]

Jet II




Thanx a bunch!


Went to the Rapidshare direct linkup and have got the file down.



Shall try it out when I am back in the office (that is where the iPhone is) and revert to you asap with the results.



:ok::ok:

[Mac the Knife]

LilleMachines O2M is a neat little app for exporting your Windows Outlook email, contacts, and calendar appointments from your PC to your Mac.

http://www.littlemachines.com/

Works very nicely.

10$ - worth it even if you only use it once.

:ok:

[Jinkster]

Just bought myself a MacBook - 120gb HDD 1GB ram, 2.2 Dual Core and I love it!!!!

Anyone thinking of buying one, do it!!!!

As an addition:

Apple Aperture 2.0 available as a trial from www.apple.com/aperture - free for 30 days then you have to buy or find a serial number. Excellent program!

[lekkerste]

Seekayess, I've been away for a few days. I've just sent you a link to program called iNdependence, which I now think is the best solution available on the mac. Maybe it's the same as Jet 2's suggestion? Hope you've got it sorted anyway.

Cheers

[seekayess]

lekkerste



Got it, thanks!:ok:


Shall revert asap on progress etc.


Check you email box, too!

[Senior Pilot]

I'm just trying out a MacBook Air with the thought of buying. Keyboard is "different", but quite acceptable, and the screen is very clear for its size. Magnification with two finger spread has already caught me out a bit, but otherwise I'd love to see a touch pad included. Quite an attractive piece of kit, I'm sorely tempted to have it for travel: it is so light, and the usual Mac intuitive operation. And half the weight of my MB Pro :cool:

Anyone else got one: comments, pros, cons?

[Mac the Knife]

The Macbook Air really IS attractive but it's awfully expensive for what you get.

Have you considered an Asus eeePC?

:ok: Mac

[Jet II]

The Macbook Air really IS attractive but it's awfully expensive for what you get.

Have you considered an Asus eeePC?

:ok: Mac


Why?

Thats a bit like going to by a Lexus and ending up with a Hyundai ;)

[Mac the Knife]

'Cos you can buy 3 for the price of one and still have 95% of the functionality.

Don'r get me wrong - I'd love a Macbook Air, but it really is vastly overpriced for what it does, unless you're buying it for bragging rights.

Not having a LAN socket (yes, I know you can buy a dongle) is a big nono for me.

There are several ultralightweights around that aren't as pretty but do the same job for much less.

:ok:

Mac

[Senior Pilot]

Since I changed over to Mac, I haven't bothered to cable to my router: neither the iMac nor my laptop, so the lack of LAN socket isn't currently an issue. Down the line: maybe I'll need to, I'm open to suggestions.

With an iMac and (currently) MacBook Pro, I don't want to either go back to Windows, nor play with an alternative OS.

Currently using the Air, and getting quite taken by it. I suspect I'll take it, and ditch the Pro (or give it to No 1 daughter ;) ).

[Jet II]

'Cos you can buy 3 for the price of one and still have 95% of the functionality.

Don'r get me wrong - I'd love a Macbook Air, but it really is vastly overpriced for what it does, unless you're buying it for bragging rights.

There are several ultralightweights around that aren't as pretty but do the same job for much less.



So the car comparison was pretty valid then?

Tell what car you drive Mac?

[Mac the Knife]

Opel Corsa

'81 Series III Landy

:ok:

[PPRuNe Towers]

Someone mention a Series 3?

Ethernet adaptor for the Mac Air is 19 bucks. Couldn't justify the computer for home or office use but with 220 plus nights a year on the road it is very tempting.

Rob

[El Grifo]

For those of you who can take a joke and are not TOOOO precious about your Big Mac, check this out


http://www.flogged.net/media/video/whymacssuck.wmv :}

[pendrifter]

If you don't get a problem solved here - then try here

http://www.macfixit.com/

I've had a couple of probs and solved here.

I'm using Safari, which recently has been getting sloower and sloooooower each day. :ugh:
Checked out macfixit, and problem solved (someone else having the same trouble), Safari is flying again.

Bookmark it now!!

[Senior Pilot]

I'm trying to delete Time Machine backups from an external hard drive (Free Agent Go), but can't see any files to delete, nor find a command to format the disc.

Any hints, please?

TIA

[Senior Pilot]

Time Machine solution found at MacOSXHints (http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071101005330768) :ok:

[Senior Pilot]

Anyone else here have a MacBook Air? I'm having a problem with battery charging times, and Apple Support are good, but not sure what is a normal charge time atm. It's taking hours (5.5 hours so far from 0% to 50%), I'd appreciate an indication from others as to what charge times they are experiencing.

TIA :ok:

[MightyGem]

The MacFormat Forums (http://forum.macformat.co.uk/) are another good place for help with all things Mac.

[redsnail]

As macs are gaining in popularity worldwide, it's only time before viruses are written for macs.

Does any one use or recommend some a/virus software or am I being unduly concerned?

(180 nights away, that's a lot of open wifi and broadband connections)

[seekayess]

redsnail

Call me ultra-careful or what you will, but I have ALWAYS paid for, and had the Norton Anti Virus on! :ok:


And I find it more than adequate!


. . . open wifi and broadband connections)


What has THAT got to do with any virus? You can get virus ONLY if you go snooping in doubtful sites, most of which try and tempt you with porn, not because you are connected thru ANY wifi etc.



Leastways, I don't think so! I am open to correction, tho!

[redsnail]

Many of the hotel sites that you need to go through first have a lot of ads flashing away and there's the potential for spyware etc.

[The Nr Fairy]

What I would recommend, especially over an open Wi-Fi connection, is trying to use secure (i.e. https) web pages for logging in and even for reading private email. GMail, PPRuNe mail, Yahoo etc. all allow you to log in securely, but only GMail (off the top of my head) then keeps the https connection. The login URL is stable which means it can be bookmarked.

And ClamAV is the first MacOS AV software which appeared when I googled it. Ping me in a month and I might know more about it :)

[Big Bad D]

I use and would recommend the Intego SecurityBarrier (VirusBarrier and NetBarrier) software for the Mac (www.intego.com). It is simple to install and configure; and, most importantly, is completely unobtrusive. The latest version X5 is Leopard compatible. There are 30-day trial versions available for each of their products.

The Intego solution is not free, you pay for the software which includes the first 12 months subscription; but the subsequent renewal is reasonably priced and there are good discounts for taking out longer subscriptions.

[redsnail]

Thanks a lot, I shall look into these solutions more closely. :ok:

[Wonderworld]

+1 for Intego :D

[aviate1138]

seekayess said

"Call me ultra-careful or what you will, but I have ALWAYS paid for, and had the Norton Anti Virus on!
And I find it more than adequate!"

From Macos.com

"I would concur that Nortons causes more trouble than it solves. At present, there are no viruses on the Mac. There are a couple of legitimate antivirus products such as Norton's, Virex and ClamAV.

Of the three I mentioned, Norton's is the one I'd avoid the most because of the number of ways in which it hooks into the system, scanning everything in "real time" as it is written to the hard drive. This is intended to be more thorough, but in essence it just means that it can easily screw up your system."

[seekayess]

Are you into Photoshop?

And, like me, not really professionally aware of its intricacies?

Well just go to:

http://photoshop.aws.sitepoint.com/


Click on the Download, give your email ID and, Bob's your uncle!!


PS: It is about 69 mb.

[OllyBeak]

Er... This may not be a Mac problem, but it's happening on a Mac, so:

I get the usual assortment of spam, offering blue tablets, increased inches, etc. But some of the spam appears to originate from my address.

Not only that, but I cleared out the 'Sent' bit of Mail this afternoon and found that said spam appeared there as well!

How on Earth does all this happen, and how can I prevent it?

Any hints, tips, used fivers, etc, much appreciated.

Cheers,

Ol.

(The machine is an Intel desktop running Leopard with Mail; it speaks to the outside via Ethernet, an ADSL modem and the telephone line.)

[Bushfiva]

chrisetom: Are you also Chrise, Dengchen, lovewenc and usnocnn, and on DEbianHelp? First time poster as all the above.

Ah, I see you have popped up on a couple of other sites, including MediaDV as hppay. And on a static IP address. A bit more digging suggests you own the iskysoft.com domain, which happens to be the first link in your message, and you're currently astroturfing web sites, of which PPRuNe is one, to promote it.If you've hired an SEO to do this for you, they're no good and you should ask for your money back.

[seekayess]

Sorry, Folks! I know this is a serious thread, but this was just TOO darn good not to tell you all about it!!


Bill Gates died and, much to everyone’s surprise, went to Heaven. When he got there, he had to wait in the reception area. Heaven’s reception area was the size of Massachusetts. There were literally millions of people milling about, living in tents with nothing to do all day. Food and water were being distributed from the backs of trucks, while staffers with clipboards slowly worked their way through the crowd. Bill lived in a tent for three weeks until, finally, one of the staffers approached him.

The staffer was a young man in his late teens, face scarred with acne. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with the words TEAM PETER emblazoned on it in large yellow lettering.

‘Hello,’ said the staffer in a bored voice that could have been the voice of any clerk in any overgrown bureaucracy. ‘My name is Gabriel and I’ll be your induction coordinator.’

Bill started to ask a question, but Gabriel interrupted him. ‘No, I’m not the Archangel Gabriel. I’m just a guy from Philadelphia named Gabriel who died in a car wreck at the age of 17. Now give me your name, last name first, unless you were Chinese in which case it’s first name first.’

‘Gates, Bill.’ Gabriel started searching though the sheaf of papers on his clipboard, looking for Bill’s Record of Earthly Works.

‘What’s going on here?’ asked Bill. ‘Why are all these people here? Where’s Saint Peter? Where are the Pearly Gates?’

Gabriel ignored the questions until he located Bill’s records. Then Gabriel looked up in surprise. ‘It says here that you were the president of a large software company. Is that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well then, do the math chip-head! When this Saint Peter business started, it was an easy gig. Only a hundred or so people died every day, and Peter could handle it all by himself, no problem. But now there are over five billion people on earth. Jesus, when God said to ‘go forth and multiply,’ he didn’t say ‘like rabbits!’ With that large a population, ten thousand people die every hour. Over a quarter-million people a day. Do you think Peter can meet them all personally?’

‘I guess not.’

‘You guess right. So Peter had to franchise the operation. Now, Peter is the CEO of Team Peter Enterprises, Inc. He just sits in the corporate headquarters and sets policy. Franchisees like me handle the actual inductions.’

Gabriel looked though his paperwork some more, and then continued. ‘Your paperwork seems to be in order. And with a background like yours, you’ll be getting a plum job assignment.’

‘Job assignment?’

‘Of course. Did you expect to spend the rest of eternity sitting on your ass and drinking ambrosia? Heaven is a big operation. You have to pull your weight around here!’ Gabriel took out a triplicate form, had Bill sign at the bottom, and then tore out the middle copy and handed it to Bill.

‘Take this down to induction center #23 and meet up with your occupational orientator. His name is Abraham.’

Bill started to ask a question, but Gabriel interrupted him. ‘No, he’s not *that* Abraham.’

Bill walked down a muddy trail for ten miles until he came to induction center #23. He met with Abraham after a mere six-hour wait.

‘Heaven is centuries behind in building its data processing infrastructure,’ explained Abraham. ‘As you’ve seen, we’re still doing everything on paper. It takes us a week just to process new entries.’

‘I had to wait *three* weeks,’ said Bill. Abraham stared at Bill angrily, and Bill realized that he’d made a mistake. Even in Heaven, it’s best not to contradict a bureaucrat.

‘Well,’ Bill offered, ‘maybe that Bosnia thing has you guys backed up.’

Abraham’s look of anger faded to mere annoyance. ‘Your job will be to supervise Heaven’s new data processing center. We’re building the largest computing facility in creation. Half a million computers connected by a multi-segment fiber optic network, all running into a back-end server network with a thousand CPUs on a gigabit channel. Fully fault tolerant. Fully distributed processing. The works.’

Bill could barely contain his excitement. ‘Wow! What a great job! This is really Heaven!’

‘We’re just finishing construction, and we’ll be starting operations soon. Would you like to go see the center now?’

‘You bet!’

Abraham and Bill caught the shuttle bus and went to Heaven’s new data processing center. It was a truly huge facility, a hundred times bigger than the Astrodome. Workmen were crawling all over the place, getting the miles of fiber optic cables properly installed.

But the center was dominated by the computers. Half a million computers, arranged neatly row-by-row, half a million ........


Apple Macintoshes ........


all running Claris software! Not a PC in sight! Not a single byte of Microsoft code!

The thought of spending the rest of eternity using products that he had spent his whole life working to destroy was too much for Bill. ‘What about PCs???’ he exclaimed. ‘What about Windows??? What about Excel??? What about Word???’

‘You’re forgetting something,’ said Abraham.

‘What’s that?’ asked Bill plaintively.

‘This is Heaven,’ explained Abraham. ‘We need a computer system that’s heavenly to use. If you want to build a data processing center based on PCs running Windows, then ........ GO TO HELL!’

[Telstar]

How many of you use an antivirus software prgram on your Macs? I know I probably don't need it but back when I was a PC user I used free AVG. Anything similar for the Mac?

[seekayess]

Hi Telstar

I have always used Norton AntiVirus.

Have never had any problems with any virus for the last twenty years!! :)

Everyone says that I am wasting the money and I wouldn't have had any virus even if did NOT have NAV loaded. Mebbe they are right, mebbe not! I find it worth the small amount it costs for my peace of mind!

Horses for courses, I guess!! ;)

[Telstar]

I would never have Norton or Symantec on my computer again. They crippled my PC when I had them running, they were seriously expensive too. AVG was dead good, lightweight and free!

[Hasselhof]

OS X Leopard Server comes with ClamAV built in. If its good enough for them...

That said, I can't be bothered with antivirus software on my mac until there are viruses to scan for. I keep up to date with what is going on in the Mac community and if I hear that there is a looming problem then I'll be right on it.

[Telstar]

Fair enough. Thanks for the replies.

Anyone know of a good piece of software for "grabbing" flash videos for a mac? Only ones I could find are the ones for Windows. Trying to grab this type of video:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1078549907

[Hasselhof]

Anyone know of a good piece of software for "grabbing" flash videos for a mac?

Try CosmoPod (http://www.cocoamug.com/cosmopod/). I use it and it works well, though its for safari only.

[aidanf]

TubeTV also works quite well, and is easy to use

TubeTV - YouTube and other flash video to Apple TV, iPhone, and iPod - Download and Export Software for Mac OS X (http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/tubetv/)

[PerAdUK]

Hey, nice to see a place that respects a good computer. :P

Ok so right now I'm still on my G4 Powermac Quicksilver, which has served me well, but with new software demanding more than 1.6ghz of Proc. speed :P , I'm looking at picking up a Mac Mini and using it on my Apple Flat Screen.
Anyone got one? the ones I've used have run really well, despite not being very powerful... And I was wondering if I was just lucky?
It's either that or I save up for a Macbook Pro, my dad has one of those and it's pretty good.

[Background Noise]

Anyone know of a good piece of software for "grabbing" flash videos for a mac?

Yes - this is pretty good - from the apple download site - Web2 Delight (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/web2delight.html)

[Mac the Knife]

"....picking up a Mac Mini and using it on my Apple Flat Screen. Anyone got one?"

Yes. Excellent little beast. Get the 2GHz one with a 160gig HDD and 2GB of memory. Only thing that lets it down a bit is the onboard Intel GMA 950 graphics processor which is good but not stunning.

:ok:

[PerAdUK]

Ah yeah, they look good, surprisingly powerful for such a small thing.
Does yours make much noise?

[Mac the Knife]

No. Have to put my head near it to hear it.

:ok:

Mac

[aviate1138]

Norton? I stopped using it ages ago. It always seemed to be behind any crashes I had.

From an Apple forum....
" Symantec's tools have developed a bad reputation in the Mac world over the last several years and there's no question that for many users, removing Symantec programs from their computers improved their Mac experience tremendously. "

My feelings entirely.

[seekayess]

Ah well! I have been a continuous user of Norton now for the last twenty years and I have NEVER had any problems of any manner!

C'est la vie!!


BTW,

I know, I could have posted about them one at a time, but, what the heck!

You guys deserve the best!

Please go to THIS (http://sniptools.com/toolsreviews/osx-utilities-review) and check out what is being offered!

I am already busy downloading!!

[cavortingcheetah]

:hmm:

Wonder if some of you would please be so kind as to provide some information and/ or suggestions on a few points.
A little of a waffle perhaps but I want to explain why the Apple warranty would be so important to my travelling needs.
Posted a thread downstairs a few days ago, lamenting the lack of customer care on my Sony Vaio. Bought it less than a year ago in the USA/Sony dealer, warranty etc. Now it has a touchpad problem. Sony USA will only honour the warranty in the USA and will charge me $300 for shipping to San Diego. Sony UK tell me that if I send it to them in England, they will want £189 just to look at the kit. The South Africans will not touch it because that model, a cheapy, is not available there. The Germans, well, much the same as the English. In other words, it's not a company, it's a franchise with no recognizable service base.
I've been thinking of moving to a Mac for a long time, when my older little, tiny Vaio dies. Been put off by the fact that I am very, very unclued up on computers and those of the family who are good with the horrid things only know their way around PCs.
So, please, any feedback on dunces changing from PC to Mac.
Any feedback on the honouring of warranties in countries other than that in which the Apple has been bought. Surely Macs do go bust form time to time?
What really would be the competition for the Apple Air? It just feels right, like my VGN T2XP.
Thank you one and all.
cc

[Background Noise]

Friend at work bought a US spec Macbook and has just had it repaired under international warranty in UK.

[AppleMacster]

Specifically, AppleCare on the laptops has international coverage. The PowerMacs and iMacs are not covered internationally with AppleCare.

The only exception is the MacMini where the AppleCare has international coverage, being small enough to be deemed portable!

AppleMacster.

[fleebag]

^^^
Where did you read that? I haven't seen anything on any of the mac forums I'm active on.

[AppleMacster]

Flying Officer Kite,

Certainly, it would appear that hackers have managed to unlock the new iPhone 2.0 software, meaning that the iPhone could be run on any network. However, you have to deliberately run software in order to re-flash the iPhone to make it work. This is different from being able to do damage to a desktop via the iPhone in terms of viruses and dangerous code. Like fleebag, I've not seen anything along these lines.

What sort of problems are you having with downloading?

AppleMacster

[MightyGem]

Something to do with This Article (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/25/mac_exposure/) perhaps?

[John James]

a cup of coffee is also a killer :(
I am trying to get a CH virtual pilot pro up for flight gear sim and running on my new imac but it is an older serial type and guess I need a transition to the new bus connect type- any tips?
thnx
ps I am new on macs
j

[John James]

running clamx anti virus- has cleaned out some bad emails and not obtrusive

...norton from my pc days is a nightmare
good free 2 gig on line back up is mozy
yrs

[seekayess]

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.



:ok::ok:

[WeatherJinx]

Hello all

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 :rolleyes:

Enjoy:)

[seekayess]

PC Tools have a free AV for Mac.

Very easy to install, update, scan and monitor.

Can be found HERE (www.iantivirus.com)

And since it does not cost a sou, why not try it?


:ok::ok:

[aviate1138]

Buy David Pogue's Mac OSX Leopard Manual - "The book that should have been in the box"

All anti virus software sellers hype the potential but in truth there is almost nothing out there that will ruin your day IMHO.

[Farrell]

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).

I like this screen: NEC Display Solutions MultiSync LCD3090WQXi-BK (http://www.necdisplay.com/Products/Product/?product=4af7b335-9302-4429-8d73-74c35a363b57)

Thoughts please.

[AppleMacster]

Farrell,

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 :E).

Have you investigated Spaces in Leopard regarding your window layouts? It might be an answer to using up screen real estate.

AppleMacster

[Farrell]

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.

[Unhinged]

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.

[AppleMacster]

You can always add more displays and multiple graphics cards to get truly huge screen real-estate

Indeed! The Mac Pro can support up to *eight* 30" displays if loaded to the gunnels with dual-link graphics cards. :ok:

AppleMacster

[aidanf]

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.

[Farrell]

It is looking like the Mac Pro then.

Time to go and read up a bit more on it.

Thanks everyone for your help :)

[fmgc]

This is a fantastic Log Book program for the Mac and iPhone:

Coradine Aviation Systems (http://coradine.com/)

[Mac the Knife]

"I will need a MASSIVE screen where I can lay out multiple windows without having to constantly resize them."

You'll get more screen real estate by using two or three 19" monitors and its easier to manage than one humongous display.

:ok:

[Binoculars]

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.

It was fun while it lasted Mac, but get stuffed.

[Binoculars]

Make that 7..8..9. Sooo frustrating that such a great piece of equipment as the Imac could be rendered useless so easily. Beware all potential buyers.

Fantastic technology, but unless you are interested in pose value, get something with a replaceable monitor. ****, back to Microsoft.

[Farrell]

Mac Pro ordered with one 30" HD display and a 19" WS monitor for surfing baby!

Mwah!!

[Freddie-M]

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?:confused:)

[MacBoero]

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 (http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?letter=all;showall=1;sort%5Bapp_name%5D=ASC)

You can also download a trial version of Crossover, so why not give it a whirl...
Windows Applications Seamlessly Integrated on Mac OS X - CrossOver Mac (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/)

[Binoculars]

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?

[AppleMacster]

Binos,

Did you try booting up in "Safe Mode"? Hold down the Shift Key whilst it's starting up.

Does the Mac try to boot up from the installation disk? If not, hold down "C" whilst it starts up. This will force it to try and start from the CD. Do and "Archive and Install" *not* an "Erase and Install".

Someone has posted a similar problem on the Apple discussion forum. It's a bit techy –*but might work: Booting to Darwin/BSD Screen (http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1553062)

Good luck,

AppleMacster

[Binoculars]

Macster, I was getting ready to grovel at your feet. Booted to the Install disc, Archive and reinstall selected, all going well. An hour or so into the installation, Please insert Mac OS X Desc 2 disc to continue installation.

In she goes. Out she comes again. Wipe wipe, scrutinize for any possible scratches, but it's not something that's been used much. In she goes. Out she comes again. Automatic eject. Just as I was getting excited. There's a description for girls like that.

What next? :confused: I'm stuck in no man's land.:{

[AppleMacster]

Binos,

Sorry to hear you are still having trouble. As there are two disks, are you installing 10.3 or 10.4? As I remember, 10.4 came on a single DVD.

If the Mac will let you, do another "Archive and Install". As there are two disks, it might be worth trying to avoid having to use the second one by clicking the "Customize" button on one of the installer pages. De-select anything you don't want. One of the longest parts of the Mac OS installation is the different language sets. If you just install the English one, it will take less time and may be more successful.

If you are using the original installer disks which came with your iMac, it may well be trying to install all the applications which originally came with the Mac. Again, use the "Customize" button to avoid installing all those apps again.

Good luck (and fingers crossed for you!),

AppleMacster

[Binoculars]

Yes, I noticed the amount of time devoted to things I didn't need, but I thought I'd just do it by the book. The problem is of course, that my computer disks were for Tiger 9, 10.4.1 came via automatic updates so I don't have a disk for them.

Can I download them on to a disk from somewhere?

[Binoculars]

Sorry, Macster, unforgivable laziness on my part. I'm doing the download now. Will let you now how it goes.

Binos

[AppleMacster]

Binos,

I'm a little confused by "Tiger 9". "Tiger" was the name given to Mac OS X 10.4, which was superseded by "Leopard" Mac OS X 10.5. I assumed you meant it came with 10.3.9? (10.3 was "Panther", incidentally!). However, you would have needed a 10.4 disk to install Tiger.

AppleMacster

[Binoculars]

Once again I am proven to be a bear of very little brain. :sad:

Now that I have put my glasses on I see that the install disc is Mac OS version 10.4.2.

So now I am completely lost. :{

To clear up any confusion, it is 10.4.2 but it does come on two discs.

[seekayess]

I have a real funny problem:

When I click on a clickable name to download what should have downloaded after the aforementioned clicking (:ugh: sorry for the convoluted sentence there!!) the download just about begins after going on to the appropriate new URL, but, within a fraction of a second, reverts to the previous page -- and the d/l does NOT happen.

At times -- though not always! -- I can still manage to do the d/l by a Control-click.

This has especially been happening if I go to any of those free software offers etc. For example, I tried THIS (http://caminobrowser.org/) but was just NOT able to achieve the d/l any which way I tried!!

For the life of me, I cannot suss out what wrong have I done!

Has anyone understood my problem? Any help??


Ta muchly, in advance!

[Shunter]

That's because links ain't what they used to be. They're not always hard links to what it is you want to download.

I suggest getting with the program. System Preferences/Mouse and set your secondary button to "right click", or if you've got a MacBook or MacBook Pro enable two-finger right clicking. Ctrl-click went out with OS9 :\

[seekayess]

Thanks, Shunter.

Am using an iBook G4 laptop, OSX 10.4.11: though I do own a Mighty Mouse, have never used it: I find the trackpad a lot more effective and easy to use.

And, the Control click gives a drop-down menu where one can click on "Download file" etc.

[Shunter]

Fair enough, you won't have the luxury of multi-touch then. But look on the bright side; if you had a traditional PC brick laptop chances are you would have thrown it in a skip by now!

[seekayess]

That's true!!


And yet . . . ...



No easy downloads for me!! :{:{

[Farrell]

Mate, I've seen the fishing trips and the Cuban cigars you flaunt......go and buy yourself a MacBook Pro!

You know you want to!

Farrell :ok:

[SpringHeeledJack]

A couple of years ago I purchased a Kensington 70W power adapter to give external power to ones mac when sitting in the Rolls or in the BBJ :p and it has given sterling service to date. However, the Smart Tip has broken....not so smart :ugh:. There are various tips that fit into the power adapter for laptop, phone, ipod etc, various country's power sockets etc and that gives incredible flexibility.

The tip that I need is the 'N23' which sounds like a picturesque road in France, but is in reality the one needed to fit into an older (non magnetic) power connection in various Macs. I have sent a mail to Kensington because the Mac no longer appears to be catered for on their website and apart from an automated reply have heard nothing back.

I thought that perhaps as the prooning macs travel a lot they might also be in the same boat as I and could help out, as the normal (old) charger is not so good for travelling apart from in a hotel or such.

Here's hoping


SHJ

[MacBoero]

Try this page : Kensington Configurator (http://www.eupowercenter.kensington.com/euTipsApp/English/config.jsp)

[SpringHeeledJack]

Thanks for the quick reply McBoero.

I tried that link and all it did was tell me which tip that I needed, which is old news :hmm: I filled out the form, but all that did was tell me that as I already had an iPod adapter tip I didn't need another, again and again :ugh:

However they did provide another address for contact, so a missive (pleading) help has been sent and let's hope that they reply soon.

Thanks again


SHJ

[Shunter]

I have to say, as much as I'm starting to get to like Apple, Safari isn't a patch on Firefox. Worth giving it a try perhaps? It's worth it for the AdBlock extension alone. Gets rid of all this ****e over here ------------------------------>

[AppleMacster]

Shunter,

Safari has an AdBlock extension also. Required no setting up to get rid of the Pprune adverts – just double-click to install.

Get it here (http://safariadblock.sourceforge.net/)

Works quicker than Firefox, too...

AppleMacster

[seekayess]

ApMac

Does not cater for OSX 10.4.11, does it?

Seemed to be for the OSX 10.5 only, that one!

:hmm:

[AppleMacster]

Does not cater for OSX 10.4.11, does it?

Seemed to be for the OSX 10.5 only, that one!

Yes, you're right! This works in 10.4 (although it's $10):

PithHelmet (http://www.culater.net/software/PithHelmet/PithHelmet.php)

AppleMacster

[SpringHeeledJack]

Cut 'n' pasted from the main forum......

I was doing a bit of housekeeping and deleting to free up space on the old hard drive and came upon all the .tiff files, some 20,000 of them in all. Well, on further inspection the majority are web icons of websites that the computer has visited over the last few years and two things are confusing me.

1) There are loads of sites that I have no recollection of visiting and the likelihood is small due to no interest (i.e quilting websites), so how is there a record of having visited such sites apart from someone else having used the computer ?

2) What would be the purpose of the computer keeping all these icons even though I regularly clean out the cookies and so on, so as to keep the inner workings running smoothly ? Most are between 8kb and 30kb in size, so not space hogs, but all the same.....

So, any bright sparks out there who can put me to the wise, their wisdom would be appreciated.


Thanks


SHJ

[SpringHeeledJack]

Come on you style consious, mamby pamby fellow macophiles :rolleyes:

Surely someone can help ? Applemacster ? Anyone ?


Regards


SHJ

[AppleMacster]

SHJ,

Whereabouts did you find these files? I can't find anything similar on any of my Macs, so wonder if they are from a previous operating system build?

AppleMacster

[SpringHeeledJack]

Hellelujah!!! :)

Do you know, I haven't the faintest.....seriously, though I think that i came across them using the 'WhatSize' programme and noticed that there were so many, either as .tif or .tiff. Now a great many are from various programmes within the OS, but masses were a web icon and the address of the website.

Perhaps if you were to just type .tiff into Inquisitor or the search box of the silver/grey Macintosh HD symbol on the desktop they would appear. Let me know what you think please.


Thanks


SHJ

[AppleMacster]

SHJ,

I still can't find masses of web icons as tiff files. I'm running 10.5 and all the web icons appear to be stored in one 20Mb file in:
User>Library>Safari>Icons.db

It's a bit of a mystery. You could try the apple discussion forums where there are nerdier people than I:

Apple Discussion Forums (http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa)

AppleMacster

[SpringHeeledJack]

Thanks for the reply AM

I'm on 10.4.11, philistine that I am :}

It would seem to be along this path >SHJ>Library> Application support>Inquisitor>IconsA>witches4you.com.tiff (as an example). Now I hve nothing against witches, but to my knowledge I haven't visited any witch :confused: website in the last few days since I cleared out the cache. I suppose it depends which witch is which though....

Perhaps it's just in 10.4 ? It suprised me that there was a record of every website that i'd visited in the last few years and also a load that I didn't or would have little motivation to visit. Perhaps it is the way of Inquisitor to bring up several 'suggestions' as to what you might mean in your search and keeps these as records, but why only God (or Steve Jobs) knows!


Regards


SHJ

[AppleMacster]

SHJ,

I've found them. In the IconsA folder where you stated. It's very strange that they didn't appear in the (usually infallible) Spotlight search. I just deleted all 12000 files to see what's going on, then reinstalled Inquisitor. It seems to cache icon images of all the pages which appear in the search results in Inquisitor. "Clearing History" in Inquisitor doesn't delete the cached icons, interestingly. Of course, caching the icons is one of the things which makes Inquisitor so swift.

There is an alternative to Inquisitor, which doesn't appear to leave detritus on your Mac:
Glims (http://glims-for-safari.en.softonic.com/mac)

To uninstall Inquistor, you need to delete it from MacintoshHD>Library>Input Managers

AppleMacster.

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

Was wondering if anyone had any advice on the difference and relative merits between the two iMac versions? My heart says get the 24 inch thing of beauty, but my head's saying that for roughly the same spec it's £200 more and the 20 inch is probably a more sensible size and less "in your face". I'm buying it for the family desktop as I'm thoroughly fed up of PCs, so we're not intending to use it for any swish developing or such like. Is the 24 inch too big?? I suppose it's a bit like going into Comet and comparing a 32 inch LCD with a 40 inch and buying the big one, getting it home and discovering it swamps the lounge...

The other possible driver is that I can put the saved money (if I buy the small one) towards a new Macbook (some serious persuasion to do yet on Mrs TSP though!)

Any help appreciated!

[Background Noise]

I have a 20" imac - a friend has the 24" (admittedly the newer version with the glossy screen) and the bigger one is great. If you ever intend to look at photos the big screen is brilliant. It will look big for the first few days but It's what I'd get next.

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

Thanks BN...being sensible shall be shelved in favour of wall-to-wall iMac methinks!

[The Nr Fairy]

We've got the 20" iMac - so as well as taking a slight pay cut, we forked out almost a grand for the "Ooooh, I like that" interface (quote from Mrs Fairy).

But - solid, dependable, and there's always VMware Fusion and BootCamp for the PC-only CDs/DVDs which Fairy Jr wants to play.

[Nige321]

Scarlet

Don't buy the 20" - the screen is not a 20" version of the 24" - it's a lower quality unit. The 24" is a superb machine, and if you want a MacBook, well Apple are about reported to be about to announce a lo-cost MacBook...

N

[Farrell]

Mmmmmmm......droooool!

http://images.apple.com/macbook/overlays/images/redesigned20081014.jpg

[Pies]

Macworld | Review: 20- and 24-Inch Aluminum iMacs (2008 Edition) (http://www.macworld.com/article/133332/2008/05/alumimac2008.html)

Hopefully this should help a little. 24 inch every time if you have the money.

[Jet II]

and if you want a MacBook, well Apple are about reported to be about to announce a lo-cost MacBook...



Well that didn't happen

And I dont think you should be using the words 'lo-cost' and 'Apple' in the same sentence. ;)

Will be buying a MB-Pro as soon as they arrive in the sandpit - looks like Christmas will come early this year.:D

[Farrell]

No Firewire port on the new MacBook - only on the Pro version.

Could they be phasing out MacBook for an all new singing and dancing generation of laptops soon?

[seekayess]

Thought I would report this to you folks . . .


My iBook G4 HD would not boot up, so I assumed that I had had it crashing on me.

I went and handed it in to the local service provider -- who informed me that I had made it within the Extended Warranty by, literally, the foreskin of my teeth!! The warranty was to lapse on the 5th Oct, and I had carried it in on the 3rd!!

The ASP promptly placed the order for a replacement HD, which arrived with them in two days. But . . .

The tech-bod could not install the OS!

So, he told me that the Logic Board would need to be replaced -- but the lappy was now out of warranty! I spoke to the call centre here in India, who promptly put me through to a very sweet little lady called Michelle, in Australia. And when she was told that I had been using the Apple Mac now only for the last 20 years -- and she was just 21 years old!! -- she promptly said that she would authorise the LB replacement as being within the Extended Warranty period!

The LB turned up -- from Singapore, I believe -- in another three days.

The tech-bod felt that the extra RAM (1 gb) that I had installed was not OK and that was removed, too!

And then, he went on to install 10.5.5 on the lappy, in place of the 10.4.11 that I had had all this while!

So, here I am: with a lappy working perfectly with a new HD, a new LB and a spanking new OS -- for a possible cost of about USD 40 for the replacement of the RAM! (The lappy happens to be working very well indeed, thank you, without the extra RAM -- a tad slow, sure, but who cares!!)

I don't know about anyone else but I for one am now a hard-core 'swear-by' for the Apple Mac -- as also their Extended Warranty offer.

Hurrah and Hurray!!

:ok::ok::D


Edited to add: I had backed up the ENTIRE lot of files of the lappy about 12 days before it crashed (or, whatever!) and as such, I lost just about a few odd songs etc that I had since then d/l!! :cool:

[sprocket check]

make sure you get the RAM back. It DOES SPEED THINGS up drastically.

[MacBoero]

Apple Service have a habit of removing RAM that hasn't been supplied by them, stating "It is not compatible" or "It is faulty". They are additionally naughty in not returning it either, even if they don't refit it. I would ask for the RAM back, saying that if the RAM is faulty you want the opportunity to return it to the supplier for refund. You bought it after all! :hmm:

[seekayess]

Hmmmm . . . .

The RAM had been duly returned to me by the ASP and I got the systems people in my office to install it back -- it only took a few minutes to do that. After working well for 24 hrs, suddenly the laptop went berserk, ending with the rectangular black screen notice about keeping the start button pressed for about seven seconds etc!!

So, I promptly removed the RAM -- by now, I knew how to do that! -- but the laptop would not boot up.

After doing a start with the DVD (Command-c-d pressed) I carried out a hardware check, which, fortunately, turned out now to be OK.

Tried a normal restart, without the DVD -- and it started up fine -- and has been working OK now for the last 36 hrs -- albeit slow, since the RAM is only the in-built one of 512 mb.

Thought I would update you folks on what is what!

I know I must have it kicked up: so, intend to pick up a new 1 gig RAM in the next couple of days.

If someone reading this knows: Can you tell me if the RAM chips are the same for the PC and the Apple? The PC systems guys in the office told me that they are the same, but someone else mentioned that they are not.

[seekayess]

There we go!! :ugh::ugh:


My caution in the last post has been fully justified! The lappy has gone belly-up again!

This time, I am not even trying to repair it myself -- shall march into the office of the ASP tomorrow and demand attention!


Is this something to do with the Leopard? Because, my Tiger NEVER did crash all this while whereas the Leopard has done it now abut eight times over a period of just ten days!!


I can tell you -- I am one unhappy/ angry bear right now!! :mad:

[Shaft109]

I have an eMac from 2004 (same as an iMac really) and it has probably accumulated it's fair share of dust and ****e in there judging by the look of the fan from the back.

I have noticed it is slightly slower than it used to be so is it:

Worth stripping the case off to blow all the crap out or no?

I know I have to beware of the voltages from a CRT display:ok:

[seekayess]

I am planning to pick up a 1 gb RAM chip.

Qs Are RAM chips the same for a PC (they are always cheaper and more easily available) as for a Mac, technically speaking?

PS: I know they look exactly the same!


:confused:

[MacBoero]

If you go to a website like Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com (http://crucial.com/uk) or Mr Memory – Desktop, Laptop & Server Memory/RAM – FREE Delivery & Live Support (http://www.mrmemory.co.uk) and search for the memory for your machine. Not only will it give you some prices, but it also gives you some technical information about the memory required. Don't worry Crucial and MrMemory have web presence in other countries too.

[seekayess]

Thanks!

But all that it told me was that I could use a particular RAM Chip . . .

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z285/seekayess/Picture1-2.png


&

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z285/seekayess/Picture2.png


But no info if I could use the more easily available PC RAM Chip! :uhoh:

[Saab Dastard]

Given that all Macs now use intel processors, it bloody well ought to!

Here's some information from a memory reseller:

KINGSTON/SAMSUNG 1GB PC2700 333MHZ 200 PIN DDR SODIMM Part #: k1g203


Works Flawlessly in All Pentium, AMD Athlon, and Apple Notebooks that accept 1GB DDR PC2700 modules.
Tested with Apple, Dell, Sony, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, Gateway, eMachines, IBM, Gateway, and more.
Approved for Apple Powerbooks


SD

[seekayess]

SaabD

Thanks!

I am still working with a 14", White iBook G4, which is a PowerPC.

I guess that would alter the situation a bit, would it?

[Borderingstupid]

on the same subject, (or well nearly), i want to upgrade a macbook's ram. it has 512mb already. i want to upgrade to at least 1gb maybe 2. is the process easy? i have installed chips on PC's and it is simple, but im a mac virgin, and i have no idea what do do, i dont even know ehre to take the back off!!

[timmyneedham]

RAM upgrade dead easy if using intel macbook - first, go to crucial.com and run their scanner. this will tell you how much memory you can put in. then buy it (from them or someone else) - if you buy it from crucial it normally comes pretty quickly and they show you exactly how to install it. this took me 1 minute and worked first time.

TN

[WeatherJinx]

Apple Knowledgebase instructions on how to perform the upgrade here (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1651).

I recently upgraded mine with RAM from Crucial and followed these instructions. The whole thing was a breeze and the lappy is performing much much better with 3Gb than it did with 1Gb.

Go for it and good luck!

[Shaft109]

Yes nifty title to grab attention.

Right Apple eMac (similar to older iMac) in an enclosed case. Over the years has gained a bit of dust inside and wondered is it worth stripping it down to blow the crap out?

Am aware of the dangers on an exposed CRT display with the high voltages....

[BusyB]

Trying to update Office mac 2008. Update SP1 gets as far as writing script and then hangs forever. Found one website saying this is a known snag but their remedies didn't work. Any ideas please.:confused:

[Jet II]

Well had my new MacBook Pro for a week now - and it is fantastic.

The aluminum body makes it feel much more of a professional tool than the old plastic ones. New LED screen is much brighter and seems to be 'sharper'. The glass touchpad feels beautiful and the 'gestures' are very handy.

Although basically the same the 'click' feel of the keys does not feel quite as smooth as my previous MacBooks but apart from that I really cannot fault it.

Top job Apple :ok:

[Mac the Knife]

".....new MacBook Pro...."

No Firewire/1394

:(

Mac

[Nige321]

".....new MacBook Pro...."
No Firewire/1394
Mac

MacBook Pro DOES have Firewire 800 - an adapter plug can bring it down to FW400

It's the ordinary MacBook which is now missing Firewire.

N

[seekayess]

Here is a list of what one person considers as worth-the-candle


40 Apple Utilities (http://tinyurl.com/40MacUtilities):

[inducedrag]

requesting help to open aims e crew to full utilization on mac using Safari

[AppleMacster]

Inducedrag,

Our AIMS system has never worked properly with Safari on the Mac. Sometimes, a beta version of the next version of Safari has worked, but stopped once the release version appears. Now, it won't even work with the betas.

Firefox for the Mac works in every way on our company's AIMS system except for the Vacation Bidding page. You can see your vacation, select days to book leave, but the button to submit the days doesn't work. It's ludicrous. I ended up doing it at work, rather than home.

The Opera browser works as well.

Applemacster.

[ScouseGeordie]

I have MacOS 10.5 (Leapard) on an intel iMac and use Opera to access my roster (AIMS eCrew). However, Opera won't let me access the company on-line e-mail system so I use Safari for that. All a bit of a nuisance.

Now, that's at home - in my lodgings I have an older iMac running MacOS 10.4 (Tiger) and can run all aspects of eCrew, e-mail and most other things the company wants me to view. It's all beyond me so I just put up with it.

I went on to the AIMS help site once and it said that wireless internet connections are not supported - seems to work though!

[Saab Dastard]

I went on to the AIMS help site once and it said that wireless internet connections are not supported -

I suppose it depends on what is meant by "supported".

Technically, there is no way that this can be true - it will work, as you have experienced!

From a security perspective it may be desirable not to use wireless, though. Even WPA has now been cracked, I believe.

SD

[ITCZ]

Right Apple eMac (similar to older iMac) in an enclosed case. Over the years has gained a bit of dust inside and wondered is it worth stripping it down to blow the crap out?
Did that myself about a month ago, on this 2003 eMac 1gHz/60/combo I am using to type this.

Piece of cake. Lots of useful info on LowEndMac website.

[flimflam]

So I finally crumbled to peer pressure/curiosity and bought a Mac! (13" macbook 120 gb)

Have to say I am well impressed and won't ever go back to windows.

Quick question though, if anyone can help - I use a 4gb USB key to store and transfer work between home and office but I keep screwing up/forgetting the synching.

On windows PC I had the 'briefcase' to automatically sync my work.

Can anyone advise how I can sync my USB key with my new Mac please.

Compliments of the season to all.

FF

[seekayess]

There are quite a few of these floating around and, after trying a few of them, I find that YTD18 -- the latest version -- is simplicity itself!

All you need to do is type in/ copy-paste the URL of the YouTube that you wish to keep and press 'Download' -- and it is all done!!

Check out at THIS (http://freeyoutubedownloader.net/) site!

Enjoy!

[sprocket check]

Well done flimflam,

try this:
Apple - Downloads - Automator Actions - Sync Folders Action (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/syncfoldersaction.html)

[timmyneedham]

Why don't you just use Mytube - it downloads things from You Tube straight into I-Tunes and you can play them on your Iphone/Ipod Touch.

Happy New Year

TN

[flimflam]

Sprocket,

Thank you, Happy new year

FF

[SpringHeeledJack]

And a happy new year to all the mac users, seeing as how this is the first post of 2009 :) Obviously no-one has had any problems so far ? Hoorah for Apple!

I have a silly problem, i'm searching for jpg's in the system so that I can do a bit of housekeeping, after making a backup of course! In iPhoto there are over 9,000 images. When I search in finder or spotlight I seem to only be able to find 5,000 ish. I updated iPhoto a year ago and since then I don't seem to have the same ability to search for .jpg or DSC/IMG etc files as before, iPhoto library doesn't give much help.... :confused:

I'm running 10.4.11 btw. Anyone with any suggestions ?


Thanks


SHJ

[aviate1138]

I am using 10.5.6 and checking for problems via Mac OS X and iPod Troubleshooting, Support, and Help - MacFixIt (http://www.macfixit.com)

So far no problems for me.

[Argonautical]

Just put it on a G4 running 10.5.6 and don't get any imagery. Anyone else with the same problem?

[Miserlou]

Hi,

I am on the verge of getting my first Mac but have a question.

There are a couple of the old model iMac 20" 2.4Ghz machines in the shop and this is the only machine I can afford.

The question is what is the graphic card rating and can it run World of Warcraft?

Banal question but important to me as I so want to be a Mac convert.

Thanks.

[AppleMacster]

Miserlou,

Presumably, this is the first Aluminium iMac? Specs here:
everymac.com specs (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/stats/imac-core-2-duo-2.4-20-inch-aluminum-specs.html)

The video card is a 256Mb one which is plenty for WoW:

WoW latest update and specs (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/games/demos_updates/worldofwarcraft.html)

Applemacster

[Miserlou]

Thanks for super quick reply. That appears to be the machine. The new model is marginally better but also 25% more expensive.

Only worry know is the wife who is a MS Office addict.
I've tried telling her that this will be easier and better but she keeps harping on about compatibility.

Anyone know whether MS Office for Mac can open .docx files?

Thanks.

[Senior Pilot]

Anyone know whether MS Office for Mac can open .docx files?

Yes. It's Office 2008, running on OS X, virtually transparent with Office 2008: and a bl**dy sight cheaper :ok:

[Background Noise]

Office Mac 2004 is the same as Office 2003 for Windows.
Office Mac 2008 is the same as Office 2007 for Windows (docx etc). There is a MS converter for both Office 2003 and Office 2004 to open the later docx files.

[Miserlou]

Thanks chaps.

Even better news. Her indoors has agreed with the proviso 'as long as it does everything that the old PC can do'!

I have assured her that it can and will do it in a more friendly way and look good on the desk at the same time! Hope I am not overstretching my confidence.

[Background Noise]

Miserlou - you can also run windows on your mac if there is anything you've got that is windows only.

[The Nr Fairy]

Miserlou:

Background Noise is absolutely correct. There are actually three ways to do it.

1 - Virtual machines - check out VMware Fusion, Parallels or Q. My experience with Fusion is that's it's stable and reliable. Google "mac virtualization"

2 - BootCamp, where you assign a bit of disk space to a Windows partition, but this requires a reboot between using Mac OS and Windows.

3. "Hackamac" or whatever it's called - running Windows as the ONLY OS on a Mac, but personally I think this is as close to criminal as you can get as Mac OS is much more stable than any Windows OS.

[Jet II]

There are actually three ways to do it.



There is actually 4 - if all you want to do is run a single Windoze program you can use Crossover. This allows certain supported Windoze programs to run in OSX without having to load a copy of Windoze like the other Virtual machines.

[SpringHeeledJack]

A question to the mac users.....

My present reliable, but old, powerbook is displaying various symptoms of it's age and use and will require perhaps costly repairs/replacement of parts in the near future. I was thinking of purchasing a new replacement, but am unimpressed with the new offerings visually. Is there a source where one can purchase the 'old' new stock, i.e that which was new only a few weeks ago before the release of the latest offerings ?

And, just out of curiosity, what happens to all the stock that has been superceeded ? Does it get sent back to the factory and disassembled and reconstituted in some way into another product or even manufacturer or what ?


regards


SHJ

[AppleMacster]

SHJ,

The online AppleStore usually has clearance stock, although these are normally no more than one version old. Typically, they are end-of-line, or fully warranted Macs which have been returned to Apple (all customers can take back their new Macs within two weeks of purchase for a full refund, for example). They go for around 10% discount on the price of a new machine. Currently, the UK AppleStore only has 13" MacBooks on clearance.

Applemacster.

[Miserlou]

Well, I've been and gone and done it now.
I am now the proud owner of a 20" 2.4 Ghz iMac and looking very beautiful it is too.

Wife has not yet tried to use other than Safari (but I think I will put Firefox on it anyway) and is well impressed.

I'm having a Macnerd friend round next week to help me get the Time Capsule set up as external storage for the whole network and get the 3 windows XP machines to share the network.

Guess I'll have to invest in MS Office for Mac if my mate doesn't have it already.

Cool machine!

[Mac the Knife]

".....I'll have to invest in MS Office for Mac....."

Why? NeoOffice (a version of OpenOffice for the Mac) - http://www.neooffice.org/ - is actually MORE compatible with MS Office than MS Office for Mac.

I was quite disappointed with MS Office for Mac - slow, clunky, many features omitted and files are not perfectly compatible with MS Office for PC.

NeoOffice is excellent, better in fact than the "official" native OpenOffice for Mac.

Give it a whirl, I doubt you'll regret it - and the price is right.....

:ok:

[innuendo]

Has anyone installed iPhoto 09 and found that slideshows put together using 08 have become messed up. IE settings changed, times, Ken Burns effect and slide order not as they were?

I seem to have had a lot of work rendered useless since I installed 09.

I also lost a lot of work in a slideshow I had done in 09 when I clicked on the settings icon and the settings panel opened in "All Slides" and appears to have reset all the times and transitions I had in the show, to the same 5 seconds and a single transition for all slides in the show.
I am trying to see where I may have caused the problem but I am stumped.

I'm seriously looking at dumping 09 and re-installing 08.

[Miserlou]

Thanks Mac.
My wife finds Excel indispensable. This seems to be a major issue for most Neo users. Great if you don't need Excel.
How does iWork cope with Excel?

[Miserlou]

OK. The family loves the new Mac except for one thing.
The mighty mouse seems to lag when they play online games like training their pets on Facebook and the wife is complaining about pain in the arm as a result..
I have switched to the old mouse which is better but still not quite fast enough.
Mouse response is set to fastest and I have tried several different mats as these sometimes cause this type of problem but to no avail.

Is there anything else I can adjust or buy to correct this?

[+200 No Flags]

Miserlou,

The problem you're describing is something affecting all OSX users. Basically, it's just the way Apple has programmed the mouse to feel.

This article may be of interest to you :

TidBITS : Mac OS X's Mouse Acceleration Problem (http://db.tidbits.com/article/8893)


Hope this helps...

[Wonderworld]

The best thing you can do is chuck the mighty mouse in the bin and get a good Logitech or similar. I have a Logitech with programable side buttons that I use for Exposé.

i love Mac to death but the mice are crap :eek:

[Mad Monk]

I also use a Logitech mouse. I need a bunch of extra buttons for the way I work.

But the Mighty Mouse can be reconfigured for much better response than default.

[seekayess]

I have recd this on another Group: could be useful to all:


Trojan.OSX.RSPlug. A through G.

Suggest the following corrections and additions to your information:

1) There is no free Mac compatible scanner for malware at F-Secure. Please remove the link.

2) There is a very good free Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard malware scanner from PC Tools called iAntiVirus that has been kept up-to-date. I highly recommend it to everyone running Leopard. You can download it here:

iAntiVirus - Free AntiVirus for Mac (http://www.iantivirus.com/)

3) There is also a free scanner and removal tool from macscan.securemac.com called 'DNSChangerRemovalTool'. You can download it here:

DNSChanger Trojan Horse Removal - OSX.RSPlug.A OSX/Puper (http://www.dnschanger.com/)

However, I would not count on it detecting every version of Trojan.OSX.RSPlug. The MacScan folks have only documented 5 of its 7 variations.

4) ClamAV is IMHO essentially worthless for detecting Mac OS X malware. My last evaluation of their malware definition list indicated that it is nearly a year and a half out-of-date.

5) Another name for Trojan.OSX.RSPlug.E is Jahvah-A. This is the name used by Sophos.

6) The malware naming system remains chaotic, despite the fact that a standardized naming convention has already been established.

7) Determining a complete list of malware for Mac has been equally chaotic and unverifiable due to the unwillingness of a few anti-malware providers to share data and malware definitions.

For example, I am only aware of a '.G' version of Trojan.OSX.RSPlug because it is listed at PCTools.com. I have been unable to find any detailed description of its specific features.

8) The term 'Anti-Virus' is now antiquated. The correct term is:

Anti-Malware

This is because viruses are now a minor portion of the plethora of dangerous computer software. Other forms of malware include Trojans, worms, bots, spyware and adware.

9) The best 3rd party Mac security information sources I have found are SANS.org and Secunia.com. Both have extremely useful email newsletters.

[Miserlou]

+200 No Flags,
Thanks. I have downloaded USBOverdrive and have a much more 'natural' to my mouse.

Miserlou.

[Gooneyone]

I'm no computer expert but have always used a Mac laptop. Recently - about 1 year ago - upgraded from the i-Book to a MacBook (Leopard - 1G RAM). Had to get a way of accessing various PC based products, so I got Parallels 4.0 late last year and it was dead slow - until I realised that I was running it on 500K RAM. Just increased the RAM in the Mac to 2G and assigned 1G to parallels.
The difference is unbelieveable! I can now run XP and Mac together with the only cost being a slightly slower Mac. Anyone needing to run both XP and Mac together, I would definitely recommend Parallels - but you need at least 2G RAM.

[timmyneedham]

Gooneyone

Memory prices are so low and you could get 4gb ram for your macbook I think. Try crucial.com and run their memory checker.

TN

[Gooneyone]

Thanks TN. I checked that and it can only take 2G.

[Jet II]

Anyone needing to run both XP and Mac together, I would definitely recommend Parallels

Depends on what programs you need to run.

I used to be a (quite) happy Parallels user - but I only use Windoze for a few programs (mainly IE for websites that dont behave properly with Firefox)

With Parallels I got fed up with having to load Win XP every time I wanted to do a quick task so now I use Crossover (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/) - I find this loads a lot quicker and doesn't need as much memory as Parallels to run properly. But, Crossover does not support all Windoze progs - even if it doesn't officially support the one you want to use it's worth giving it a go as you may be surprised.

[mutt]

Just opened my new MacBook..... this is a totally new experience for me. I had read this thread before deciding to move into the Mac world.... Thanks for the information.

Mutt

[seekayess]

'Onya, mate!

Hang in there and you will soon find that it is a far better computer than what any of us could have ever told you!

Enjoy!!

:ok:

:cool:

:D

[Jet II]

Welcome to the enlightened thread Mutt :ok:

If you get any problems just ask - we have a pretty good cross section of Mac aficionados on here who are bound to have an answer

[Impress to inflate]

How can I get the web cam going when using msn. I work in a remote site and it would be great to see the wife and kids when we chat using msn. WE chat on msn and she sends me the camera option but I cant see that option

Ta

[AppleMacster]

How can I get the web cam going when using msn. I work in a remote site and it would be great to see the wife and kids when we chat using msn. WE chat on msn and she sends me the camera option but I cant see that option

You can't use your webcam with Microsoft's own MSN client, as they essentially stopped supporting the Mac version quite some time ago. Apparently, a new version (web-camera-capable) is to be released, but it hasn't yet appeared.

However, you could try Mercury Messenger for Mac OS X (http://mercury.group1fo.com/Mercury_1_9_4.dmg.zip) which supports webcam use over MSN.

Applemacster

[Background Noise]

BTW - will the isight cam work with Skype?

[piton]

Has anyone an idea how I can reset my seemingly permanently enlarged font in emails. I adjusted the font through "preferences" a few days ago and ever since the receivers of my mails get something like font size 18 when I have mine set to 10 and it is 10 when I look in sent items but when someone replies with my original text in view the letters are massive!

I have MS Entourage 2008 for Mac recently installed)

thanks

[Senior Pilot]

BTW - will the isight cam work with Skype?

Yes :ok:

mindless extra characters to allow the post

[AppleMacster]

BTW - will the isight cam work with Skype?

The current Beta of the next version of Skype is particularly good:

Skype 2.8 Beta (http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/macosx/beta/) – now includes Screen Sharing, improved video and audio.

Applemacster

[Impress to inflate]

many thanks form all you help, had a great chat with Mrs ITI on Skype

[Fokkerwokker]

Well not quite.

I have obviously disturbed something which has caused my screen to expand beyond the edges of my Macbook screen. A senior moments prevents me sorting it out!

If I move the mouse pointer to the screen slides to the right and vice versa.

Any top tips to revert to the status quo?

I am not computer bright!

Ta folks

FW

[Background Noise]

Try pressing alt, cmd and - (minus) to zoom out. Look in system preferences, Universal Access and see whether zoom is turned on - if so turn it off.

[Fokkerwokker]

BRILL!!!!

Many many thanks:ok:

It was making me dizzy!

FW

[Dr Faustus]

I'm using Safari ( with cookies enabled ), even after deleting google cookies and not using google - a google cookie re appears !

Anyone have any ideas how to stop this happening ? ( i want to leave cookies enabled ).

[Jet II]

I believe you cannot block the Google cookies as Google is the default search engine built into Safari.

There is a method of for changing the default search engine to Yahoo but I would then suppose that Yahoo cookies would automatically be installed.

[Saab Dastard]

If you really don't want to use google and really don't want its cookies, make an entry in your hosts file (I assume that Macs have on) with 127.0.0.1 for whatever the google URLs are.

SD

[AppleMacster]

If you really don't want to use google and really don't want its cookies, make an entry in your hosts file (I assume that Macs have on) with 127.0.0.1 for whatever the google URLs are.

Yes, they do. I wouldn't recommend it, though; it could all go pear-shaped quite easily if you don't know what you're doing!

Edit Mac OS X Leopard Hosts File (http://www.webwiseone.com/node/322/edit+hosts+file+mac+os+x+105+leopard)

Applemacster

[Abusing_the_sky]

I too need a bit of help if you gentlemen (and ladies) have a spare moment.

Mr ATS just bought me a Mac after getting fed up with hearing me moan and moan and moan about me old lappy.
Great little machine the Mac!
I use MSN Messenger very often and when i try to change the (my) display picture to one of the pictures i've got on iPhoto, a message along the lines of "the picture is too big please re-size it" comes up; i don't know how to re-size the pictures, although i had a look in iPhoto, i'm still clueless.
Any advice?

Ta
ATS

PS: Thank all of you who posted helpful links with free software, very much appreciated:ok:

[SpringHeeledJack]

Within iPhoto

Go to file>export>(resize manually)>share>msn messenger.

Hopefully that should do it, hopefully :) However, there might be a preferred size that you can always resize photos to for use on MSN etc. Hope that helps.


Regards


SHJ

[Background Noise]

In iphoto you can use file, export and save it somewhere in various sizes. Or open a picture with preview (just double clicking a jpg should open it with preview) and then resize it in preview under tools, adjust size. You might want to drag a picture from iphoto onto the desktop and then work on it from there.

Edit to say - timing!

[Abusing_the_sky]

Sorted!
Thank you gentlemen, much appreciated:ok:

[MightyGem]

We take a lot of photos at work and burn them onto a DVD, using the PowerMac G5, 10.4.11, for the customer. Just a straight forward drag the files to a Burn Folder and burn.

On this occasion, the task covered four addresses. The photos for each address were put in individual folders. Each folder was then dragged to the Burn Folder.

Each folder/photo from the subsequent DVD could be read on the Mac. When inserted into the DVD drive on a PC, trying to open each folder resulted in the following message: "Not accessable. The folder has been removed or moved" Selecting the DVD in My Computer and looking at it's Properties gave a file size of 1Gb. Selecting the individual folders gave file sizes of 0 bytes.

Any ideas why this happens?

I can only think it's something to do with the burn process on the Mac. The solution we found was to create the Burn Folder, then create the individual address folders in the Burn Folder, and then drag over the photos to the repective folders.

Any ideas why the second method works but not the first?

[longarm]

Anyone able to recommend a good password manager for OSX?

[Tim00]

Keychain. It's part of OS X & will store passwords, secure notes etc. & is likely to do everything that most people need.

Ideally (and this is not default OS X behaviour, but is what I do), make your keychain-unlock password different from your login password. You do need to remember two passwords, but it prevents anything (such as mail) from retrieving a password that is stored in keychain without you explicitly permitting it each time.

For enhanced security, don't use an admin account for your day to day operations (i.e. create a 'user' account & routinely use that one. Reserve the admin account for admin-things). Store applications which you install yourself in a local-to-your-account applications folder (which you can therefore write to as a non-admin user). That way, nothing you do can touch the system.

[Background Noise]

My leopard/imac has started some strange behaviour recently. I haven't identified anything specific that prompts it to happen (although it may be after it wakes from sleep?) but a lot of HDD activity occurs, programs are very slow or unresponsive often with the pinwheel, then it automatically restarts. Any ideas - web searches are proving fruitless so far.

[AppleMacster]

Background Noise,

It could be a number of things, but there are a couple of things you can try straight away:

1. Check how much free space you have left on your hard drive. Ideally, you need around 4-5Gb of free space for OS X to work properly. Any less than this and there isn't enough room for virtual memory.

2. Have you repaired your permissions? Go to Applications>Utilities and open Disk Utility. Select the top disk in the column on the left hand side and select "Repair Disk Permissions". This is something you ought to do every few months, but especially when new software has been installed.

Applemacster.

[Argonautical]

Sounds if it is trying to install a major update and failing. 10.5.7 was released today and is over 450 MB.

Try downloading it manually.

Another useful little trick is to restart the machine and hold down the shift key. Hold it down until you see "safe boot" appear. Login then and then restart normally. During a safe boot, the machine carries out some repairs which quite often fixes problems.

[Background Noise]

Thanks chaps - no problem with space - 78 GB out of 250 free. Don't think it was the software update - it's happened a few times and no sign of any of the update checking routine running. I had done the disk permissions but I've done that again. Wasn't sure that the safe boot would work as I have a wireless keyboard but it did. (I assumed that the OS would have to be running before the keyboard was recognised/paired).

I've just done a manual update out of phase of the autoupdate and it's found the 10.5.7 - mine reports only 286 Mb. Downloading now.

[AppleMacster]

Background Noise,

The updates vary according to your Mac. My Macbook update was 442Mb, yet on the iMac was only 280Mb.

There's another button in Disk Utility marked "Verify Disk". Try this. If it flags up anything, move onto the button beneath marked "Repair Disk". I've only had to use this once when an update went awry. It repairs the file structure of the disk itself, rather than "Repair Permissions" which deals with the applications themselves and associated files.

Applemacster.

[Senior Pilot]

For the past 2-3 weeks I've had a problem with steadily reducing disc space available on my MB Air, at one stage down to ~4GB :eek: I can restore the space available with a reboot, and it appears to me to be a caching issue, especially noticeable when using iPhoto. I upgraded to iLife 09 about the time this started, so I have my suspicions :hmm:

Any advice?

Any clues on where to find the mysteriously increasing cache? Nothing found with a search on the web, nor anything in Apple Help.

[Tim00]

Could perhaps be swap files getting overly large. Does it get really slow? Try starting Activity Monitor (in Applications/Utilities, IIRC), and look at the memory tab. If the VM size is more than a 'few' dozen GB, then this might be the culprit. If any individual app is showing huge amounts of Virtual Memory, then it's a problem with that app.

see Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1342) for a brief intro. As Apple say, don't worry about the amout of 'free' memory.

[Senior Pilot]

Tim00,

Thanks: the VM useage is 1.4gb for both Firefox and iPhoto, but my problem is actually the amount of free space showing on the hard drive, in Finder. Normally around 9GB, it steadily decreases as the Air is left on for any length of time, and had got to ~4GB a couple of days ago. This was coupled with slow perforformance, all of which went with a reboot (after a massive Force Quit session!).

All of which leads me to think that some sort of cach/VM is eating into the free disc space, and it seems to be worst when iPhoto is syncronising with MobileMe. This didn't happen with iPhoto 07, so maybe the 09 upgrade is the culprit?

[tropaco]

Hi There,


I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place. Apologies if I am, but I need some help from a Mac guru. I am flying somewhat off course into uncharted territory and was planning on on my Mac using Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 3, English, 1 pack DSP OEI.

Do I need a different version of XP or will this version suffice?

[Background Noise]

That should work - either under bootcamp or VM software (eg VM Fusion or Parallels). Using bootcamp, the mac is booted selectively into OSX or WIndows. The others allow you to run Windows from within a 'virtual machine' which itself is program running within OSX.

[Saab Dastard]

You might run into problems with registering the DSP OEI with MS - it's only supposed to be used by system builders on a new build PC.

SD

[tropaco]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I presumed that they would compliment each other well as I was actually planning on buying them both on Amazon as they were being sold together.

Parallels Desktop 4.0 (Mac CD): Amazon.co.uk: Software (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001KYLH8E/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE)

Do you still think that I am likely to have problems registering the XP with MS considering this point? And in regards to not being a system builder how would MS know that I have not put together my own Mac/PC from scratch? Also would you be able to suggest an alternative Windows XP OS that would not give me these probs?

Thanks again for the help.

:ok:

[Saab Dastard]

It's not the OS (XP) or edition (home) per se, it's the version (DSP OEI) that could be a problem.

DSP OEI I believe means “Delivery Service Partner Original Equipment Installer.” It is a version of OEM software used by smaller computer manufacturers and system builders. It is only supposed to be pre-installed on a new PC.

You probably won't have a problem installing it and registering for updates, but bear in mind that all OEM versions are tied to one system ( a one-shot deal), unlike the full retail versions, which can legitimately be moved off one system and installed onto another.

Anyone selling OEM software without an accompanying PC is technically in breach of MS licensing, although I think that they turn a blind eye on the basis that a sale is a sale and better than a totally pirated installation.

However, I'm sure that MS would be particularly sympathetic (should you ever need to contact them) when you explain that it's to install on a Mac! :D

SD

[Tim00]

Senior Pilot:

This may be what you're seeing, perhaps?
Help Please (http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/helpplease/index.html#d14may2009)

Quote: "I agree with the recommendations to have quite a bit of free space on the boot drive. 10 times the memory seems about right for a working minimum. Recently I've had several clients with only 1 or 2 GB free on the boot disk; they came to me because their Macs had drastically slowed down and they were concerned about a couple of files that could no longer be opened at all. In all cases, their iTunes & iPhoto libraries were enormous, and after we moved them to an external drive and deleted them from the boot drive every thing returned to normal (so far). The one client who had only 725 MB free had to be booted from an external disk so that the trimmimg actions could be accomplished in "real time.""

[Argonautical]

Two very useful utilities that show the disk space taken by applications and system files like caches, are WhatSize and GrandPerspective. WhatSize simply gives the sizes see below :-

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/argonautical/what_size.jpg

However, GrandPerspective give a graphical representation of the same, see below:-

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/argonautical/grand_perspective.jpg

The big brown "blob" in the middle is the Google Earth cache of 547 MB.

[Saab Dastard]

GrandPerspective give a graphical representation of the same

Priceless! In a Zaphod Beebblebrox way, like, cool. Only on a Mac!:D:D

Do they do a defragmentation utility? I would just love to watch that for a couple of hours! :ok:

SD

[SpringHeeledJack]

Fellow macsters!

One's reliable powerbook is in need of a few small repairs and after telephoning a few advertised repairers, I have been none too impressed with the service. This could well lie in the in the fact that the person answering the phone has little or no technical knowledge, but to entrust my faithful steed based on this (these) first impressions is not encouraging.

Do any of you have any personal experiences/recommendations within an hour of central London ? The repairs are nothing major, but necessary, so I need the repairs to be done quickly and for a reasonable price.

Any help appreciated.


Thanks


SHJ

[Tim00]

Drifting slightly off-topic, but OS X doesn't really need much defragging. The OS itself will defrag an individual fragmented file whenever it's actually opened (subject to certain rules about its size, disk free space & file fragmentation). So a fragmented file that's never opened won't get defragged, but that's not important.

OS X doesn't however squash files up in order to optimise the free space into big chunks, so a 3rd party utility could be of benefit there, but it's only likely to be important if you do lots of video editing etc.

Unless things have changed with Windows7, Windows doesn't even do this much.

[timmyneedham]

Going back to Background Noise's problem. You're not using iAnti-Virus are you BN? Sometimes something similar happens to my machine and I find that if I go into Activity Monitor and stop the IAVD process, my macbook returns to normal and the anti-virus resets itself.
If you're not using Ianti-virus - God knows!

Cheers
TN

[AppleMacster]

I had been wondering for a while where 2Gb of disk space had disappeared, despite deleting lot of redundant files. The answer lies with Safari 4 Beta. I'm a big fan of Safari, especially now it works properly with AIMS. However, I've just deleted 2Gb of files stored by Safari, which are hidden. They are mainly jpeg page previews and ancient history files. The problem is that they are hidden in the Finder.

This article explains it: Safari 4’s Messy Trail - The Thrica Network (http://www.thrica.com/archives/352)

You'll need this to find the files: Reveal Hidden Files 1.2 software download - Mac OS X - VersionTracker (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/34132)

There were 36,000 files in there! :{

[Senior Pilot]

AM,

I can't locate the directory quoted in the article (private/etc). Which folder did you find it in?

TIA

[AppleMacster]

Macintosh HD>var>folders>jw>jwHG3BlB2RWHxU+BYmsoq++++TI>-Caches->com.apple.Safari>

The "jw" & "jwHG3BlB2RWHxU+BYmsoq++++TI" bit are specific to my Mac - it will be a different set of letters on yours. However, just go into var>folders and locate the one which has an unlocked -Caches- folder, then the com.apple.Safari folder. It's a bit of a rummage, but worth it if you're limited in disk space.

Applemacster

[Senior Pilot]

Thanks: that's accounted for 1.2GB :ok:

[Senior Pilot]

I finally gave up and reinstalled OS: now a usable 13gb free, instead of a fluctuating 2 -6gb :(

I think I'll stick to Safari V3 for now, all my issues seem to have started with V4 Beta :hmm: Although I still can't get iWeb to start, even after reinstall, so that'll tie up a long call to Apple support later today ;)

[Juud]

After a few days of particularly heavy PPRuNing (me), my Viking has reached the limits of his endurance.
Not with the pruning itself, but with my continued "forcefull expressions of displeasure with everything Microsoft". :ouch:
As he has also noted a distinct lack of forcefull expressions whenever I use the iBook, he exclaimed yesterday: "Go to the shop and buy us one of those bløødy iMacs puhleaeaeaease!!"
Since the Norwegian government, keen to have its citizens on-line, gives a jolly nice tax-break for buying a computer, getting an iMac will not in fact leave me with too bad a conscience about impact on the family economy.

Have read this thread start to finish, have delved into Mac forums, have spent 2 hours at the Apple shop with a young man patiently answering most of my questions and am about ready to order the iMac+Apple care.
Few last questions, hoping the resident Mac-heads will indulge me.


The mighty mouse gets very mixed reviews. Something wrong with its acceleration curve making it sluggish/too speedy and anti-intuitive according to some, while others swear by its functionality. Should I get a mighy mouse or a logitech top model instead?
Viking wants something so he can check/work with online work-generated Excel & Word documents. The online shop recommends Office for Mac, the chap in the shop touts iWork and Mac the Knife breaks a lance for NeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php). I am inclined to go for NeoOffice, but is it functional and familiar looking enough for an inveterate Windows user without a shred of computer patience and an aversion to anything new or unfamiliar?
I now again use Firefox as my default browser on the Dell, and plan to do same on the Mac. Since life is easier with 2 different browsers open at the same time, is there an easily installable adblock feature for Safari?
I have found the working with pictures option on the 4 year old iBook cumbersome. Uploading and picture editing I prefer doing on the PC. Has this improved with the iMac, is aperture a programme worth getting or are Gimp/iPhotobuddy better options?
Is the wireless timecapsule back-up machine as smart as it sounds and worth shelling out for?


If there is anything else you think I should think about, please post. :)
Thanks in advance.

[AppleMacster]

The mighty mouse gets very mixed reviews. Something wrong with its acceleration curve making it sluggish/too speedy and anti-intuitive according to some, while others swear by its functionality. Should I get a mighy mouse or a logitech top model instead?If you're buying the iMac, it comes with a Mighty Mouse. Try it out and see what you think, you can always get another mouse later. There are two different packages of the iMac in the AppleStores – each iMac model comes in a choice of wireless or wired keyboard and mouse.

Viking wants something so he can check/work with online work-generated Excel & Word documents. The online shop recommends Office for Mac, the chap in the shop touts iWork and Mac the Knife breaks a lance for NeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php). I am inclined to go for NeoOffice, but is it functional and familiar looking enough for an inveterate Windows user without a shred of computer patience and an aversion to anything new or unfamiliar?Office for Mac works fine with current Excel and Word documents, and is ideal if you need to send the files to Windows users as the files are completely compatible. NeoOffice, however is free, and has almost all of the functionality of Excel and the other applications. iWork is much easier to use than Office or NeoOffice, and integration with the rest of the applications on your Mac, such as iPhoto is seamless. It really depends on what you need. I would download NeoOffice for your immediate needs, but take the free trial of iWork (Apple - iWork - Dokumenter, regneark, presentasjoner. Slik Mac gjør det. (http://www.apple.com/no/iwork/)) and see how you get on. Office for Mac is almost as dull as it is on a PC.

I now again use Firefox as my default browser on the Dell, and plan to do same on the Mac. Since life is easier with 2 different browsers open at the same time, is there an easily installable adblock feature for Safari?
Yes! Safari AdBlock: block ads in Safari (http://burgersoftware.com/en/safariadblock)

I have found the working with pictures option on the 4 year old iBook cumbersome. Uploading and picture editing I prefer doing on the PC. Has this improved with the iMac, is aperture a programme worth getting or are Gimp/iPhotobuddy better options?iPhoto (which comes with your Mac) proves enough for most people. It now has the amazing new feature of face recognition as well. If your needs are more advanced, then Aperture is a very powerful way to manage and colour-correct your photos. A new kid on the block is Pixelmator, which is very powerful and lies halfway between the two, in terms of picture editing: Pixelmator (http://www.pixelmator.com/)

Is the wireless timecapsule back-up machine as smart as it sounds and worth shelling out for?
Yes. Time Machine, the software which performs the backup, will do it to any hard drive connected to your computer. Time Capsule enables this wirelessly and provides a pretty good wifi router as well (modem still required, nonetheless).

[WeatherJinx]

Juud

No problems at all with the Mighty Mouse here (wireless in my case) - apart from the tiny trackball gunking up occasionally, which is soon fixed. There are sufficient mouse control options in System Preferences to accommodate most peoples' requirements, in my view. I just have it on full-blast speed settings for everything :E

As for everything else - AppleMacster has it covered!

Good luck whatever you decide.

Jxy

[Juud]

Thank you Amacster & Jinxy. Looks like Office for Mac is the least desirable yet most husband-friendly option then.

Regards Safari Adblock; it´s what I have on the iBook, after finding it recommended here. Senior moment there, sorry.

Will take the plunge today and order it.
(weird, why is ordering a new computer so scary? ...afeared of the inevitable set up hassle, wire tangle nightmares, configuration times and brain breakers ahead.. yes even with Mac.... I´m afraid I will be back here.)

[Senior Pilot]

afeared of the inevitable set up hassle, wire tangle nightmares, configuration times

Essentially non existent: as they say, take it out of the box, plug it in and off you go :ok: Everything, but everything, just works.

AppleMacster has covered just about all of your queries admirably. Re the mouse, it does take some getting used to the fact that it is programmable for left click/right click, although the design intuits otherwise.

I have OfficeMac, works fine, but it is an MS base, and frustrating for that. But it's cheap, and can be installed on countless Macs, unlike the PC limit that you'd be used to on MS.

Time Capsule is just brilliant, I've restored whole directories that mysteriously disappeared plus restored a lost MacBook when the original was lost. No reinstalling programs, finding passwords, etc. Complete ghost of the lost MB at the push of a button: brill :cool:

[foresight]

Mighty Mouse - great to use but I have got through three in the past two years. The scroll ball just gets gunked up and eventually gives up. Trying to take it apart eventually leads to disaster.
I now use a Logitech mouse.

Trouble with Time Machine is, as far as I am aware, there is no way to password protect the disk.

[AppleMacster]

(weird, why is ordering a new computer so scary? ...afeared of the inevitable set up hassle, wire tangle nightmares, configuration times and brain breakers ahead.. yes even with Mac.... I´m afraid I will be back here.)The iMac need only have one cable (for power) if you get the version with wireless keyboard and mouse.

Good luck at the 'Store. Help is at hand here for any other unforeseen events. :ok:

Applemacster

[Background Noise]

A tin of compressed air is useful for cleaning the little scroll ball. Once it gets bad, taking it apart is not that difficult although a bit fiddly and you can't afford to lose any of the little rollers - info here: Cleaning inside and dismantling the Apple Mighty Mouse: Shropshire, brought to you by LinkLink, the independent directory (http://www.linklink.co.uk/apple-computers/cleaning-inside-and-dismantling-the-apple-mighty-mouse/)

[Jet II]

Since life is easier with 2 different browsers open at the same time,

Why? :confused:

Personally I use Firefox exclusively and Internet Explorer for the 2 or 3 websites that insist on it.

[redsnail]

Juud
Feeling nervous when shopping? I was thrilled when I hit "send" for my iMac. :E Best thing. :D