well, i've finally bitten the bullet and decided that for work, i';m going to be needing a computer that doesnt corrupt files and has a stable OS...so i've gone for a powerbook 12" G4 thinger. just waiting for it to arrive now, so i thought i'd ask some questions so that i'm prepared for when it gets here. i've used a mac probably twice in my life, so i really know nothing about them...but i know that they're a lot more trustworthy for when it comes to keeping important work on them!! first question is about internet access and file sharing across a network. i've got a (seemingly) generic linksys ADSL Router/wireless jobby, which is hooked up to 3 PCs (XP Home and Pro if that makes a difference) and they all file share quite nicely. obviously i'm thinking of throwing a mac in the equation, is it a simple case of plugging the cable into the mac and the router and letting it find its own IP on the network and getting access straight away, or is it more complicated than that? second part of that about file sharing...is there an app i can get (or something i can do) so that the mac can see the files on PCs sharing on the network (one PC in particular if that makes it easier) as i'd like to be able to drag my music across for when i'm at my desk/on the move etc. also, can anyone recommend me a mouse (preferably WITH wires...never trusted wireless and never will!!) and an external hard drive for use with the mac? external HD will probably be sat on my desk most of the time, but i'd like to have it. also need to find a nice pen drive too...but that can come later. TIA for helping a n00b
Hi, I haven't tried to share files in my network. But internet sharing works like a charm.. all automatic. Mouse.. I got a Logitech MX510 Good luck L Nice choice btw! My setup: Powerbook G4 12" 768mb Ram 80GB HD L
i went with the 60GB hard drive instead as i'm hoping to be getting an external hard drive for archiving stuff, but that should take a while to fill, so i wont need to worry about it for a while. just had a look at that mouse - never knew mices had so many buttons now!! i'm used to 2 buttons and a scroller - are all those other ones programmable? waiting for monday (official Mac Day)
Networking on a Mac/OS X works in exactly the same way as windows. If you have a DHCP sever running, the OS X will assign itself an IP and the other necessary bits (subnet, default gateways, dns etc) and you'll be good to go. Otherwise, it's a case of doing it manually which OS X makes very easy. If you've set IPs/gateways manually on windows, you'll have no problem with OS X. Infact, OS X has a network setup process when you boot OS X for the first time - so you'll likely be network ready by the time you first boot it anyway! File sharing / internet - once the network stuff is configured OS X interfaces really nicely with Windows networks, so you'll be able to file share between windows and OS X with ease. If you ask me OS X works with windows networks better than windows works with windows networks
awesome! i really cant wait for this to get here now - who'd have thought i'd get so excited about a work computer?! i can see my PC becoming a games console!!
Sic Thats what my pc is about to become, when the mini's get updated (hopefully tommorow) I will selling my main rig and getting a mini. My backup rig will become a games machine only. I have a netgear router and its works perfect with macs and pcs sharing is a breeze I've got a ms stark mouse and its quite nice, though I would suggest you go for the ms explorer mouse as thats great too.
Yeah, any mouse but Apple's I will recommend. I still can't get my head around the point in a mouse having one button and no scroll wheel. I'll steal them from the iMacs when I forget to take in my own mouse but that's about it.
Anothing thing you may want to consider, is waiting for the intel switch. Macs arent cheap to begin with, and consider that once they make the switch, all newly produced software will be incompatible with the current powerpc structure, and thus rendering your laptop useless in the near future as far as new software is concerned. And as mentioned before, osx networks flawlessly with windows, no additional software required on either end.
On the HD I went for the 80GB with Superdrive. (when u choose superdrive you get the hd upgrade with it) It was only a bit more.. and those are bouth things that are hard/impossible to upgrade. So Just in case... And the Superdrive has come in handy for alot of things. Also the 80GB isnt overkill at all. Didnt regret this choice for one minute.. I would advise the superdrive 80GB HD option. Good luck with your appleexperience. L
what's the difference between superdrive and combo? if superdrive is to do with DVD/CD burning then that doesnt matter because i have a DVD burner on my PC and it will be networked with the mac. i'll also be getting my external hard drive, but i dont think that'll be necessary for a long time because i wont have a whole lot of music/video on it (just photographs and web documents) thanks for the comments everyone...glad to see that apple's going to interface nicely with my PC on the network
Superdrives allow you to burn dvd's and cds, the combo just allows you to burn cd's and read dvd's. I went for the superdrive model as its more future proof, you get a 80gb hard disc. They are hard to upgrade yourself and they are pricey to get at a later date.
that's alright then....thought it might have been something more than that, but i still have the facilities to do all that stuff, so i should be ok cheers again for the help
Im not saying support will be lost, I'm merely saying that the average lifetime of a computer is 3 years for business, 4 years for home, and when yours reaching its expected lifetime, it might be difficult to get new software considering you will be surrounded by new intel based apple software. Which although they say it will work, its epxected to work slowly. Like running mac osx through pearpc. Thanks for the link though, that answers many questions I had on specifics. The information I have is mostly from last weeks "omg the end of the world" discussions on apple ;p
heh, no worries, just stumbled across it earlier, and where i'd have normally gone "apple link - no relevance" i thought i'd have a read tbh, i've never had a computer that's lasted for 3 years. i'll probably upgrade this laptop when the apple/intel's have been out for a while. can't wait for it to get here!
shroom, they just have to create dual binaries , which involves ticking two boxs. Heck some publishing houses are still using mac os 9 for Quark !
