SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
"I just bought it," came the cheerful voice. "No you didn't," I said with disbelief. "Yes. I really did!". With my wife's face all blushing red with excitement, I knew she was telling the truth. "You can see my order confirmation still on the screen." And so we will be getting a new iMac in a few days. It just so happens our very first computer was also purchased this same day in 1998 (a PII 300 which I just booted up a few weeks ago). My desktop just got fried last week so I am heading down to new computerland also. Well, I have many questions and figure there are some Mac-savvy people on here. 1) What are some options we should turn on? Turn off? Thanks for any and all information and links. I'm just trying to get ready and prepared. |
CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: Unless you are behind a NAT make sure the Firewall is on. Unless you have Bluetooth devices that you use regularly make sure to turn Bluetooth off (as it's just asking for security trouble no matter what OS you're using) For chatting, I use Adium, if you want the GIMP you can find an easy user-friendly installer at http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/. The nice thing about OSX is that it comes with almost everything you need to do "stuff" on the internet and with media. I use NeoOffice instead of OpenOffice. NeoOffice is OpenOffice but with a native MacOS UI. You can get NeoOffice from www.neooffice.org. As for X11, all Macs come with 2 DVDs for installing OSX in case something goes wrong. On one of those discs are some developer tools primarily consisting of Xcode (an IDE), X11, and a couple of GNU libraries. I Triple Boot Mac OSX, Linux and Windows. You need to download Boot Camp for the Windows drivers. If you don't plan to Triple Boot (like I did) Boot Camp will do all the hard work for you and all you will need to do is insert an XP/Vista CD after some time passes and continue with a normal Windows install. AirPort is amazingly simple. It is far more simpler than Windows XP's Wireless Network Manager. When the AirPort finds a wireless router it will display the ESSID. You can then connect to it by clicking on the ESSID name from the Wireless drop down menu in the Apple Bar (top of the screen). If the wireless network is encrypted via WEP or WPA you will be prompted for a password and (if using certain types of WPA) a username. MacOSX natively supports SMBFS (the file transfer protocol that Windows Uses). You will be able to see Windows computers that are on your network or you can type in their IP to connect to them manually. MacOSX can read and write to FAT32, I believe it can only read NTFS natively, but if you download MacFUSE (http://fuse-for-macosx.sourceforge.net/) and NTFS-3G for Mac (unless MacFUSE has NTFS-3G in it already) you can get very good NTFS write support. To run some Windows programs under MacOSX you can download DarWine to get the MacOSX port of Wine so that you can run a handful of programs (that work with wine... you'll have to try them out on your own ------------------ "Oh, bother," said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh." "Socialism works great... if there are no people involved." -- Pastor David Ginter, Union Church of Guatemala. |
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SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
Wow! Your post gave me a BIG smile. Thanks for the information. That was great. |
HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
Great post, CPU! I don't have much to add -- you pretty much covered it. One small thing though -- here is a great page that my wife found that lists a number of the best open-source Mac programs. It's how I found some of my favorite apps, like Smultron. --clint |
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SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
Thanks. Looking over that site right now. I'll probably have other questions if I install anything with strange requirements. Again, like installing X11. Looks like the TheGimp (which I use on the PC) requires X11. And what is PPC? BTW, both my wife's and my computer are both rather old and aged. She's been wanting a new iMac ever since my parents got one last year. Her wireless was flaking out last week so we were going to get her a new computer. Just wanted to say this wasn't something she just told me out of the blue. She's probably been waiting for a reason to finally get one. In the end, I did get her wireless connection working again, but she couldn't shake the iMac fever. And my computer is totally dead (5.5 years old). I, too, have been looking for a new laptop since last Summer. I've been waiting for the new Intel laptop chips (800MHz FSB) to become available and looks like they have just started to ship. NVidia also has a DX10 laptop video card! |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
Yes, Gimp requires X11. It works well for me -- there is a native version of The Gimp called "Seashore", but it doesn't have good support for transparencies or many of the Gimp filters -- I don't like it. It's a good idea to install X11 -- a number of open-source apps use it. PPC == Power PC -- the pre-Intel CPU architecture. The Intel Macs can run apps compiled for PPC, but it has to run through an interpretation layer called "Rosetta" that may or may not give you a noticeable speed hit. Apps that are compiled as a "Universal Binary" may be run natively on either PPC or Intel. Pixen is a fantastic native Mac graphics editor for editing game art, btw. Glad to hear that the iMac decision was premeditated. The Macbook Pro laptops are fantastic -- my wife and I each own one, and CPUFreak just got one as well. --clint [This message has been edited by HanClinto (edited July 05, 2007).] |
MastaLlama Member Posts: 671 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
I've had a macmini for a while now, I mainly use it for recording with GarageBand and I've played with KeyNote a bit. Airport is SUPER EASY to use and I like the bluetooth functionality, I can backup the stuff from my phone in an instant without a USB cable! All peripherals I've add have worked flawlessly without any pain in setup (external DVD burner, midi controllers, usb hub, etc...) |
TallBill Member Posts: 298 From: St. Louis, MO Registered: 11-22-2002 |
My only comment is to say that I leave X11 running at all times, because OpenOffice isn't the only FREE app that you're going to want on that iMac.  With the open source community on Mac being as it is these days, there's really no need to BUY software for that iMac once you've got the OS up and running. ------------------ "...prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer---pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying. Sometimes when you have no sort of comfort in your supplications, it is then that your heart---all broken and cast down---is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the Most High." |
zookey Member Posts: 1902 From: Great Falls, Montana, USA Registered: 04-28-2002 |
congrats  When I get a new PC--I researched it a lot--I am getting a mac too (macbook)---with Boot Camp, from what I havew read, some people have stated better Windows performance than on their windows-only machines---also look up Parallells---(SP might be off)---it allows you to run windows and mac side by side---actually it also lets you access your Boot Camp Windows without resetting---and Windows is in it's own tiny window inside the Mac OS so, if my understanding is correct, it should be somewhat easy to transfer files between the two---I think the latest Parallells allows you to drag files from the Windows window right on to the Mac desktop---but yeah, Apple is definitely on an upswing--and good for them hehe!------------------ |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
quote: Parallels is a decent app, but I've been somewhat disappointed with their customer support. I've just recently put my lot in with VMWare Fusion, which is the main competitor to Parallels. It's not quite as far along, but in general I've been happier with it as a product. Unity isn't quite as nice as coherence, but it's coming along, and even though Fusion is in beta, I've enjoyed good stability with it. The early adopter price is only $40, so after trying it out for a bit, I had seen enough to make me think I would rather ride on this train for a while. Cheers! --clint |
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SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
Thanks again for all the wonderful information and insight. We received the iMac on Saturday. Yes! Just some responses: > AirPort is amazingly simple. It sure was. It found my wireless router and just popped up the dialog so I could type the wireless password. It really could not have been easier unless it typed in the password itself. > Glad to hear that the iMac decision was premeditated. Hahaha. Yes. My wife knows I don't like impulse purchases. I've been looking for a laptop for myself for a year now. I can pretty much always give a reason why I don't need something and so I put off a purchase. Once the needs and productivity increase outweigh the reasons (or I run out of reasons), then it's time to buy. > The Macbook Pro laptops are fantastic I've thought about getting one for myself, but I don't want to spend that much and I also require a smaller screen (15"/15.4" for photography/travel). My needs still require me to have a Windows machine, which is why I was asking about BootCamp. My wife has no desire to have Windows on her computer. Yes. Parallels sounds really cool. So, sounds like I should probably install X11. I don't know. I guess I have a Windows mentality that installing huge things will cause all sorts of intertwinings and spaghetti and be impossible to remove. |
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CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: How about a regular Macbook? They're amazing computers too, but not very good for newer windows games. If you'd rather not spend so much for one, consider an Apple Refurbished (If I couldn't get so much off with the education discount I'd get a refurb myself!) Welcome to Unix, my friend, where big doesn't mean bad. ------------------ "Oh, bother," said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh." "Socialism works great... if there are no people involved." -- Pastor David Ginter, Union Church of Guatemala. |
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zookey Member Posts: 1902 From: Great Falls, Montana, USA Registered: 04-28-2002 |
quote: Does it have DX and OpenGl support so you can play windows games without only booting Windows? The new Parallels (3.0) does according to Apple's site--but I think that distro of Parallels is brand new so it is probably a new feature--- ------------------ |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
quote: I've had trouble getting hardware-accelerated video to work well under Parallels. Supposedly, Parallels offers DirectX 9.0 compatibility, and while it worked for me with some stuff, I couldn't get anything to run well without crashing. VMWare Fusion on the other hand only offers DirectX 8 support, but it seems to do it really well, with much greater stability. I can play more games with Fusion than I can with Parallels -- it's one of the reasons why I recommend VMWare's software over the alternative. --clint |
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zookey Member Posts: 1902 From: Great Falls, Montana, USA Registered: 04-28-2002 |
quote: oh wow--that is a good thing to know---does/can VMWare actually access the BootCamp partition? Thanks for all the info hehe--when I get my Imac I will know what to get! ------------------ |
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SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
quote: Even for somewhat older games, too. The Macbook comes with the Intel 950 chip and, having had one for a few months, I know it will not meet my needs. It does not have hardware T&L which is really limiting. My kids and I play certain games (Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Zoo Tycoon 2, along with some expansions) and I really want to finally see some good looking water. The 950 really slows down during night time scenes too. I'd stick with just Mac OS, but as a Windows developer, I need a Windows OS as I have found Visual Studio to be superior to any of the other free options. That is great to hear. Thanks. |
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HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
quote: Yup! That was the top priority for myself as well when I was first shopping for VM tools. Fusion has recognized and used my BootCamp partition without any issues. One minor thing to keep in mind is that you will need to reactivate Windows XP the first time you boot from Fusion. Glad to hear the info is useful -- cheers! --clint |
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SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
Do the Mac's have a way to easily view photos without having to import them into iPhoto? I use the feature in Windows all the time allowing me to go into a folder, double-click on an image and then I easily traverse through all the images within the folder. I don't even see thumbnail images on the Mac. Is there a similar feature on the Mac so we don't have to import everything? Can we view our photos directly from within the folder? |
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CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: Yes. The Equivalent of Windows Image and Fax Viewer is called "Preview" in OSX ------------------ "Oh, bother," said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh." "Socialism works great... if there are no people involved." -- Pastor David Ginter, Union Church of Guatemala. |
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SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
CPU, thanks. I've seen that Preview thing before on my parent's iMac, but I could not figure out how to go to the next photo. I had to keep closing it and then double-click on the next photo. I'll need to figure out what is going on with the thumbnails. It is a writable hard drive, although formatted for Windows XP (FAT32, perhaps). Does that make a difference? |
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CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: ------------------ "Oh, bother," said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh." "Socialism works great... if there are no people involved." -- Pastor David Ginter, Union Church of Guatemala. |
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CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: Oh right I forgot to answer that question. You'll need to select a pile of images (or use Apple Key + A) and then double click on them to open a box with a list of pictures. Make sure it is FAT32. The reason being Mac OSX can't write to NTFS and Mac OSX creates thumbnails by resizing images and placing them in a hidden folder called __MACOSX in the folder that contains those files. If you can't write to the Windows drive OSX can't create thumbnails.... stupid I know, but Windows XP does the same thing I belive. (Heck, I think GNOME and KDE do too, only Linux can write to pretty much anything so you don't notice it  ).------------------ "Oh, bother," said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh." "Socialism works great... if there are no people involved." -- Pastor David Ginter, Union Church of Guatemala. |
LegaianLight Member Posts: 71 From: Colorado, United States Registered: 04-04-2006 |
Another thing i have found is to make a smart folder for whatever pictures you want and to press the play button that appears in the images bar. To make a smart folder, go to your desktop and either press Command+Option+N, then figure out what criteria you want to use to pick your images (i just changed the kind selected to images). Then just click on the play button across from the Images bar and next to Show top 5. Hope that helps! ------------------ |
steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
Regarding read/write access to NTFS, it looks like the open sourcerors have finally mastered the dark art of full & safe read/write access to NTFS partitions. The driver is called NTFS-3G and there are downloads for Linux, OS X, and some other BSD variants. ------------------ |
HeardTheWord Member Posts: 224 From: Des Moines, IA Registered: 08-16-2004 |
I have to agree with everything that has been said so far. I recently bought an iMac as well and couldn't be happier. One program I can't live without is TextMate. It's basically a super-charged text editor that I use for my church's web development. While it isn't free, it's definitely paid for itself in time saved. I've also heard of this great game that works on the Mac called "Bible Dave". Apparently it was coded by some Christian group or something... |
Tonnyx Member Posts: 140 From: Indiana, USA Registered: 08-02-2005 |
Ooh, that reminds me - the text editor I use is called Smultron. It's fabulous. It does syntax highlighting for just about anything you can think of. http://smultron.sourceforge.net/ ------------------ |
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Tonnyx Member Posts: 140 From: Indiana, USA Registered: 08-02-2005 |
http://www.opensourcemac.org/ This is a big list of Open Source Mac programs. Not sure how many of them you'll find useful. I find Seashore (Gimp-based but runs natively on Mac) to be pretty useless. Scribus runs slowly for me. I too use NeoOffice, and I like it. If you're into sheet music, LilyPond is sort of like Finale for programmers - for free. One of the very few non-free/non-open-source programs I have is Lineform (http://www.freeverse.com/apps/app/?id=6020), which is a vector-based drawing program. I really like it, and at $80, it's quite featureful. That's all I can think of right now. ------------------ |
