Mac Questions Thread.

[johnny]

I've looked back and there are any number of Mac question threads, so I might just combine them all into one thread. When I get around to it, I'll merge them altogether as a nice little database of Mac info.

Ok, here's a simple one for you all;

How the hell do I find out how much memory space I have left??!!

[Elbo]

Johnny do you mean Hard Drive space, or how much RAM is currently being used? The application you use to see all this info is in: Applications > Utilities > "Activity Monitor". There are a number of tabs towards the bottom of the application, showing CPU, RAM and Hard Drive information.
What version of OS X are you running?

[johnny]

10.4.10

Hard drive was what I was looking for. Found it, thanks. Best be clearing some space off my puter me thinks!!

[Elbo]

Haha, they all get like that eventually. Another way is to just do a "Command - I" for "Get Info" on the Hard Drive Icon. That will quickly tell you Capacity and Space Available. No pretty pie graphs though :(

By the way, good idea getting all the info into one thread. It will come in handy having everything in the one spot.

[Cronar]

OK, i got a question.

Everytime I start up my MacBook Pro, Final Cut Express automatically opens at the last project i was working on. How do i stop this?

[brisneyland]

OK, i got a question.

Everytime I start up my MacBook Pro, Final Cut Express automatically opens at the last project i was working on. How do i stop this?

Try:
System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items

[tu plang]

Try:
System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items

That oughta do it. On the off chance that its not in login items it will be in preferences in FCP (Final Cut Pro > Preferences.)

I have a question, why do people still own PCs?

[toodles]

I have a question, why do people still own PCs?

There's a thread devoted to finding Hard drive space on a Mac and you're asking why people have PCs????

:rolleyes:

[binner]

There's a thread devoted to finding Hard drive space on a Mac and you're asking why people have PCs????

:rolleyes:

hahhhh hahhhhhh ..now thats gold!!!!!!

ohhh TP . it's ok i still like you

[Rik]

I have a question, why do people still own PCs?You're offering to buy us all a mac each?

[tu plang]

There's a thread devoted to finding Hard drive space on a Mac and you're asking why people have PCs????

:rolleyes:

I'll let Johnny answer for that.

You're offering to buy us all a mac each?

No, I'm not trying to win an election.

[johnny]

There's a thread devoted to finding Hard drive space on a Mac and you're asking why people have PCs????

:rolleyes:
Hey, just because I'm retarded doesn't mean my computer is too!

[toodles]

Hey, just because I'm retarded doesn't mean my computer is too!

It's named after a piece of fruit. It's biggest marketing advantage is that it's impossible for morons to stuff up and that you can get it in pretty colours.

Like Crayolas, Macs are there to keep "those" people away anything they can harm themselves or others with.

[cam.w]

It's named after a piece of fruit. It's biggest marketing advantage is that it's impossible for morons to stuff up and that you can get it in pretty colours.

Like Crayolas, Macs are there to keep "those" people away anything they can harm themselves or others with.

so thats why the mac's are white...

ps. An actual question, with my mouse, i am unable to use the little ball to scroll upwards but i can scroll downwards. S***s me to no end because it is so annoying!

[Zyphryss]

so thats why the mac's are white...

ps. An actual question, with my mouse, i am unable to use the little ball to scroll upwards but i can scroll downwards. S***s me to no end because it is so annoying!

I've got the same problem.
Swapped the dead mouse with one at work... :o
and now it's happened to that one too! :mad:

[nizai]

Hard drive space is also stated at the bottom of every single finder window you open.

At least it is in 10.3.9, cant remember if it is in 10.4.10 which I run at work.

N

[Cronar]

Try:
System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items

Thanks Mate,

Just got home from work and tried it, no more FCE upon opening.

[Mo]

It's named after a piece of fruit. It's biggest marketing advantage is that it's impossible for morons to stuff up and that you can get it in pretty colours.

Like Crayolas, Macs are there to keep "those" people away anything they can harm themselves or others with.


so very true, partly why i got sucked in too

[Martin.au]

so thats why the mac's are white...

ps. An actual question, with my mouse, i am unable to use the little ball to scroll upwards but i can scroll downwards. S***s me to no end because it is so annoying!

The Mighty Mouse is cool, but it's also flawed. That scroll ball can get clogged up pretty fast. One possible solution is to turn the mouse upside down and rub rapidly on a piece of clean white paper.

I use a Logitech instead.

[Pebble]

Bah, I've tried but my husband is likely to buy a PC laptop (or notebook - whatever the preferred name is these days) and probably request XP for it rather than Vista. I don't plan to push it & try to convince him to get an apple because if he doesn't like it (or wants to be stubborn about learing a different thing) then it will be my fault.

Me I reckon I'll be deciding between a MacBook or a IMac (the desktop version) for home.

Where is the best place to buy Macs - through the online Apple site or from a shopfornt? Probably be buying in Bunbury / Busselton (closest) or Perth around February I guess.

[tu plang]

really is no reason not to buy from an apple reseller, price is the same just means you can get a bit of help deciding if you need it.

[Tristan23]

Ok, this isn't so much a question about Macs, as much as a comment.

I refer you to THIS (http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=88187) thread from a few months back, regarding my MacBook Pro and damage done to it. Due to the fact i'd been finishing my HSC and needed my computer up until last week I hadn't taken it in yet to be fixed. But then I did on Tuesday.

Long story short, I got the computer back this afternoon (10 minutes ago infact), and not only had they fixed the problem (dent), but had cleaned the whole thing too. My keyboard looks like it has had new keys put on, the trackpad is spotless, and everywhere else looks like it has been re-brushed or painted with whatever coating they use..just like new. It's awesome.

They did charge quite a bit for it to be fixed (but hey, my school paid for it anyway), but they did a great job. Great service.

[A-line4lyf]

so thats why the mac's are white...

ps. An actual question, with my mouse, i am unable to use the little ball to scroll upwards but i can scroll downwards. S***s me to no end because it is so annoying!

Try:
System Preferences => Keyboard & Mouse => Mouse => 360 degree scrolling

If its set to 360 degree scrolling and it still doesnt work, then it is probably faulty or clogged.

[Kane.]

Hey,

Im just new to using Final Cut Pro and i am having some trouble with colour correcting and how to keep it consistant on every clip?? Is there a way to keep the colour correcter on the same every time u correct a new clip. Also its anoying watching my footages when I can see that there is a differents of the colour it kills me. Hope you know what im talking about

Please help
cheers Kane

[treggs]

There's a thread devoted to finding Hard drive space on a Mac and you're asking why people have PCs????

:rolleyes:

Funniest thing I have read in a long time.

[No Skid Marks]

What do I need to open this? http://www.bikechecker.com/ After I download it,and try to open it,it says this is not a movie. That's right,I have no idea what I'm doing.

[tu plang]

anything .exe is a windows application. it wont run on Mac OS

[Elbo]

One tip I came across on www.leopardtricks.com (http://www.leopardtricks.com) which I have found useful for quickly accessing files, etc, is this one to do with the Stacks in the Dock.

If you want a stack that you can choose to show:
- Recent Applications
- Recent Documents
- Recent Servers
- Favourite Volumes
- Favourite Items

Do the following:

Open Terminal (Applications > Ultilities > Terminal)

Copy and paste the following into Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'

Press 'Return' (Enter)

Type into Terminal:

killall Dock

This restarts the Dock. Must be typed exactly as appears

After that you'll notice you have a new Stack in the Dock and you can quit Terminal and continue on your merry way.

[skivi]

ps. An actual question, with my mouse, i am unable to use the little ball to scroll upwards but i can scroll downwards. S***s me to no end because it is so annoying!

have you tried unplugging the mouse then plugging it back in? (seriously)

i had the same problem with the mouse for my macbookpro last week and being another computer-illiterate member of society i resorted to primal instict to solve the problem.
pitty everything isn't solved by the old unplug-plug.

[alexMc]

Got a heat issue with my older iBook G4, running a widget called iStat Pro.
Its telling my my computer is running at 54 Degrees(HD and CPU top) is this too hot? Mainly because my Fan(Rear enclosure) is at 0 RPM, or does it kick in when its too hot, the palm rest under my left hand is very hot also.

Anyone know where i can get replacement batteries from because mine has only 28% health so its practically dead, only lasts for an hour.

Cheers,
Alex

[alexMc]

all sorted, got a program to manually set parameters

[Tripper2]

10.4.10

Hard drive was what I was looking for. Found it, thanks. Best be clearing some space off my puter me thinks!!

You should get an external hardrive if you CBF cleaning the stuff off it. I dont think they're do expensive anymore either for lots of extra memory.

[skivi]

is there a way of giving my macbookpro a pep up so it runs a bit faster and also fix small glitches like when rograms close unexpectedly or due to an error. i spoke to a friend who works for mac a while ago and he said theres a simple application in the hardrive utilitys folder i should use regularly but i cant remember which one he said it was.

gosh its really frustrating being rather non-computer savvy. and before you ask no i have barely any music/photos/videos/etc on the hardrive.

nicky

[tu plang]

He'd be talking about Disk Utility. Verify/Repair Disk Permissions is what you are after.

[johnny]

I keep on getting a pop up window asking for a Keychain Password. A bloke in the Apple shop recently farked with my computer and this was the result. I've tried to correct it but failed.

Any ideas?

[faith_rider]

I keep on getting a pop up window asking for a Keychain Password. A bloke in the Apple shop recently farked with my computer and this was the result. I've tried to correct it but failed.

Any ideas?

When does it happen johnny?

[LordNikon]

You should get an external hardrive if you CBF cleaning the stuff off it. I dont think they're do expensive anymore either for lots of extra memory.

Or get one of these:

http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebObjects/australiastore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=8A39B1A1&fnode=home&nplm=MB277X/A


1 Tb of disk PLUS an 802.11/n router in one!

:cool:

[johnny]

When does it happen johnny?

Only when I'm on the net. When I open a new page. But it's pretty random in nature to be honest. A lot of the time when I'm filling in a text box of some sort.

[Steve's_Sky1]

just a question for those Mac user's out there...i'm thinking if getting a imac or macbook in the furture and just wondering which one would be better for Image editing, video's etc... I'm leaning towards to Imac because of the spec's and that..

[wa_shova]

just a question for those Mac user's out there...i'm thinking if getting a imac or macbook in the furture and just wondering which one would be better for Image editing, video's etc... I'm leaning towards to Imac because of the spec's and that..

I have a 13" macbook and have recently been editing some of my photos. I am really struggling with the screen size, a nice big imac 24" screen would make it far easier.
Going to live with it at least until tax return time though.
Go the imac, or a widescreen lcd with the macbook

[Elbo]

Only when I'm on the net. When I open a new page. But it's pretty random in nature to be honest. A lot of the time when I'm filling in a text box of some sort.
I have this happen sometimes when I'm on the net at Uni. I've narrowed it down to being something to do with joining a wireless network. It seems to ask me if I go to a certain area of the uni or if I click on a page which must only be available to lecturers or those with passwords. Not sure what the fix is, but I'm convinced it's something to do with wireless networking and user account privileges.

[johnny]

Nah, different pop up. My password was altered by a shop worker and this was the result. If you can tell me how to make screen shots I'll show you exactly what it is.

[tu plang]

Do you leave mail open? It may be mail in the background trying to check your mail every 15min (or whatever its set to) he may have cleared your keychain and hence things like mail wont have passwords saved.

Screen shot = command (apple key) - shift - 3 for a full screen

or

command - shift - 4 and you can select an area.

[johnny]

Sweet, thanks mate. No it's constantly doing it. I'm reading up on it now, it seems that the shop tech used it to change my password back.

I originally went in for some help on something > shop assist. changed password without informing me > went back to have it reset > now I have keychain issue > farkin idiots. :mad:


The stupid thing is that I just press cancel until it goes away and continue along with no problems!

[Burgertron]

is there a way of giving my macbookpro a pep up so it runs a bit faster and also fix small glitches like when rograms close unexpectedly or due to an error. i spoke to a friend who works for mac a while ago and he said theres a simple application in the hardrive utilitys folder i should use regularly but i cant remember which one he said it was.

gosh its really frustrating being rather non-computer savvy. and before you ask no i have barely any music/photos/videos/etc on the hardrive.

nicky

Hi Nicky
Tu Plang was right about repairing your disk etc but if you have applecare you will have a basic version of TechTools which is a will make your machine run smoother...
With TechTool Pro you will be able to:

• Protect your computer and data.
• Create an emergency repair partition.
• Diagnose and repair problems with your drives.
• Optimize your drives.
• Recover data from damaged drives.
• Test critical computer components and sub-systems.
• Perform routine maintenance on your computer.
• Reveal the culprits which cause your Macintosh to crash.
• Test new equipment.
• Make sure that your computer is running as fast as it should be.
Basically its rebuilt my machine and now its sooooo much better
MK

[johnny]

I go into keychain via applications/utilities and all I can do is get the list up for the sites/applications that are using the login chain. Now I have only ever used one password for this and it does not accept it. I know that tis password is correct because this is what I use to update software all the time. Am I right to assume that the shop assist. has used another password to help me change the password that they changed and the keychain is looking for that one...., the one the shop assist. used to to help me....., oh god.

[faith_rider]

I go into keychain via applications/utilities and all I can do is get the list up for the sites/applications that are using the login chain. Now I have only ever used one password for this and it does not accept it. I know that tis password is correct because this is what I use to update software all the time. Am I right to assume that the shop assist. has used another password to help me change the password that they changed and the keychain is looking for that one...., the one the shop assist. used to to help me....., oh god.

That's strange Johnny, I would get back onto the shop about it if this doesn't work: Stick in your disc (Leopard or whatever) and find the disk utility and run a verify/repair permissions. make sure you do this from the disc and not the applications/utilities etc.

Steve's_Sky1: The MacBook is really an excellent, excellent portable computer, if you don't need the extra portability, go for an iMac, they are awesome computers, the screen is beautiful and they can handle everything you want + more. If you want the best of both worlds and can afford it - MacBook Pro ;) :D

[Steve's_Sky1]

Steve's_Sky1: The MacBook is really an excellent, excellent portable computer, if you don't need the extra portability, go for an iMac, they are awesome computers, the screen is beautiful and they can handle everything you want + more. If you want the best of both worlds and can afford it - MacBook Pro ;) :D

Well yer i tossing between both of them laptop i could take anywhere example (school)

Sorry if this have been asked before but is it possible to get MSN Messanger on a mac or not?? or is yer like a messenger for macs??

[faith_rider]

Well yer i tossing between both of them laptop i could take anywhere example (school)

Sorry if this have been asked before but is it possible to get MSN Messanger on a mac or not?? or is yer like a messenger for macs??

Yup - The actual messenger for Mac is not quite as featured as the Windows version which IMHO is a good thing - it does what its supposed to without all the crap that the Windows version has become.

If you want more features than Adium is an excellent, excellent application which supports MSN and just about every other protocol out there.

If you really want as well, iChat can support MSN via a round about way (this is my personal preference). If interested PM me and Ill link you to a guide I wrote on how to do it.

www.mactalk.com.au is a great community I am a part of - very helpful for any questions you have :)

[Steve's_Sky1]

Yup - The actual messenger for Mac is not quite as featured as the Windows version which IMHO is a good thing - it does what its supposed to without all the crap that the Windows version has become.

If you want more features than Adium is an excellent, excellent application which supports MSN and just about every other protocol out there.

If you really want as well, iChat can support MSN via a round about way (this is my personal preference). If interested PM me and Ill link you to a guide I wrote on how to do it.

www.mactalk.com.au is a great community I am a part of - very helpful for any questions you have :)

Ok thanks for your help most appreciated:)

[TheBofh]

I posted a question about an iMac at work on http://forums.macnn.com recently & got an accurate answer in less than an hour.

[Gluey_trails]

Hey guys,

How to I get my songs off my iPod? I have all my songs on the other computer 3600+.

I have tried to use Podworks but it doesn't seem to be working for me at the current time.

[Mo]

senuti

has an identical gui to itunes and you can select which folder in goes in, very simple


and while im at it, i have couple of questions,
twice in the past, my macbook froze while unplugging the cable for my Sony ericsson phone (k750)

well those phones dont require the unplugging thing, then i proceeded to restart it, but somehow the programs that we open (safari) lost everything.

my bookmarks dissapeared and so did all the settings
i used to have istats running the bar on top, that dissapeared as well, which i tried to reinstalled but came up with a very long error message.

the crash thing has happened a few times before and everytime it happened, the program that was running lost all of it info, many times on Itunes too.

!help!

[Pebble]

Hey I finally have a mac - 20" Imac, basic config just optioned for a slightly bigger hard drive, and figured I'd buy additional memory much cheaper myself later down the track or when needed. Also opted for Iworks software & that's about it for now.

I'm loving it so far! The screen is almost as big as our TV! Yeah the tv is only a 26" lcd.

One question I do have is what Anti Virus software people use with Macs?
I was thinking of just getting Trend Micro PC Cillin again as that's what I had on the other computer (of course now it's no longer compatible). Just thought I'd ask to see if there are any better options or something that works particularly well with the Mac.

Or do mac's not even need anti virus?

LOL took me a while to figure out that I could configure the mouse so that the right click is a secondary button in functionality! Other than that it's not too dissimilar to using a windows computer.

[Mo]

i use nothing.

[Gluey_trails]

Macs + Virus = :confused: What the?


I have only heard of 3 virus's for macs, and I think they all involved iChat.

[faith_rider]

Congrats on the purchase mate, your going to love it. The iMac is a beautiful machine.

Anti-virus software for Mac is also known as snake oil, don't let anyone convince you you need it. Well there is a but - it can be handy to stop you forwarding on Windows viri to other windows users, but they wont affect your system. generally though, it's a joke. Look for some free stuff if you really need it.

There have been 0 viruses for Mac EVER. There have been several security threats, all plugged quickly and any other holes people will tell you about all involved social engineering - ie. tricking people into installing a program that would constantly annoy you to buy it or something even though it claimed it was free. Nothing major and even still I could count those events on one hand.

Don't hesitate to ask any other questions and check out www.mactalk.com.au

[woollybut]

I have been using macs for 15 years - never had any need for virus software and never had any issues...

[Martin.au]

I don't use AV software on my Mac either. I use AVG in Windows in the virtual machine though.

[Martin.au]

senuti

has an identical gui to itunes and you can select which folder in goes in, very simple


and while im at it, i have couple of questions,
twice in the past, my macbook froze while unplugging the cable for my Sony ericsson phone (k750)

well those phones dont require the unplugging thing, then i proceeded to restart it, but somehow the programs that we open (safari) lost everything.

my bookmarks dissapeared and so did all the settings
i used to have istats running the bar on top, that dissapeared as well, which i tried to reinstalled but came up with a very long error message.

the crash thing has happened a few times before and everytime it happened, the program that was running lost all of it info, many times on Itunes too.

!help!


Are you talking of a complete kernel panic, where you are told you have to restart by holding down the power button for 6 seconds?

I've had that happen in the past using some dodgy USB devices. I Still can't explain why you'd lose bookmarks and things though.

[Mo]

Are you talking of a complete kernel panic, where you are told you have to restart by holding down the power button for 6 seconds?

I've had that happen in the past using some dodgy USB devices. I Still can't explain why you'd lose bookmarks and things though.

No, but the Warning screen came up, in various languages to tell to shut down the computer.

up to this date i cant understand this, it happened pretty much on the first week i bought it, then repeated itself a couple of time after.

istats disappeared forever and i still cannot install it.

[Pebble]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I had a feeling that Mac & Virus don't seem to go together. I guess since I'm using firefox out of preference then getting the script blocker add-on would be a good enough security measure, albeit sligthtly annoying to authorise every website I ever visit.

I would agree though that most viruses are attained out of carelessness, hmm what would that be saying about windows users?:rolleyes:......just kidding!

Oh yeah I've come across the Mac Talk forums, certainly seems nice & friendly over there. There is quite a bit of mac related info on the Whirlpool Forum as well. It was just strange I never actually recalled reading anything about anti virus stuff!

Flexirent wanted $600 to buy out the Toshi laptop, to us it was worth no more than $200, well lets face it, it was 3yrs old, outdated & slow and also prone to getting clogged with dust and having to be sent for repairs every few months. Besided you can get a comparatively well specced laptop for just $400 more. That whole "give us an offer" at the end of the term & it's yours is pretty much bull%h#t. Buying outright & buying Mac was a relatively easy decision. For the $2k mark in Mac you get similar or better value than most laptops in that price range and Mac software (iworks etc) doesn't cost an arm and a leg! Not to mention it's not likely to get out dated too quickly (3yrs plus is acceptable)

[No Skid Marks]

How can I use Linkage on my Mac?
What's winace?
How do I use it to run linkage? Do I need to use it?
WTF does this mean
Installation
To get unace installed, use the provided installer package named “unace25.pkg”. The installer is pretty safe to use. It will not touch your system files, but simply put the unace executable in your /usr/local/bin directory.

Configuration
To use unace from inside the Terminal, the /usr/local/bin directory has to be part of your shell path. If its not, follow this instructions:

For csh/tcsh add this line to the end of your .cshrc or .tcshrc file:

set path = ($path /usr/local/bin)


For sh/bash add this line to the end of your .profile file

PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin"

Sorry for having absoloutly no idea.

[Martin.au]

No, but the Warning screen came up, in various languages to tell to shut down the computer.

up to this date i cant understand this, it happened pretty much on the first week i bought it, then repeated itself a couple of time after.

istats disappeared forever and i still cannot install it.


That's a kernel panic. It just looks nicer on the newer OS's. It's probably due to the USB device. Unfortunately USB is software controlled, yet still has access right to the heart of the system, so a buggy USB driver or device can, and is probably the most common cause for, kernel panics.

[Mo]

well can kernel panics happen without having a usb device connected?

[Martin.au]

Yeah. Kernel panics are basically the same as the Windows blue screen. If you see them regularly, then the first thing I'd check is your memory.

[komponent]

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106227

[Zyphryss]

Whenever I download an installer, it saves it as a ".sit" file, and whenever I try to install it, it thinks it is a Microsoft Word file.. I think something called "StuffIt Expander" has something to do with this problem. Can anyone please help me?

[Martin.au]

Whenever I download an installer, it saves it as a ".sit" file, and whenever I try to install it, it thinks it is a Microsoft Word file.. I think something called "StuffIt Expander" has something to do with this problem. Can anyone please help me?

First you have to have stuffit expander installed. Then, you can either drag the .sit files onto Stuffit Expander to extract them, or you can "Get info" on the .sit file, choose Expander under the "Open With" drop down menu and select "Change all" to "use this program to open all files of this type". That should make sure .sit files open properly.

[Zyphryss]

First you have to have stuffit expander installed. Then, you can either drag the .sit files onto Stuffit Expander to extract them, or you can "Get info" on the .sit file, choose Expander under the "Open With" drop down menu and select "Change all" to "use this program to open all files of this type". That should make sure .sit files open properly.

But how do I install the StuffIt Expander?

[Martin.au]

But how do I install the StuffIt Expander?

I can't remember. I haven't used it in 2 - 3 years. Try looking it up here.

http://www.versiontracker.com

[Zyphryss]

Cheers Martin!

I ended up downloading it from http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/stuffitexpander.html

All good now!! The files are now being saved with a little cardboard box icon, and are opening normally :)
Very technical, I know..

[tu plang]

Hey MacHeads. Anyone made the leap to Office 2008 who feels like sharing their opinions?

[wombat]

Hey MacHeads. Anyone ... feels like sharing their opinions?
Ahahahahahahaha!

Hah.

[Steve's_Sky1]

my friends just recently got a mac and has got Office for mac 08...looks pretty good....

[tu plang]

My main concern is with Excel having no VB support. I use a lot of additional functions for work.

[faith_rider]

Hey MacHeads. Anyone made the leap to Office 2008 who feels like sharing their opinions?

I was once told that Office 04 ran like a dig with no legs, well Office 08 must be the inbred spawn of that dog.... It is buggy in a way that only MS can be...

That said, if you can get it cheapish and iWork isn't an option (which it sounds like it isnt), the upgrade is worth it for the nicer interface and improved compatibility (.docx for example) is worth it.

[tu plang]

I was once told that Office 04 ran like a dig with no legs, well Office 08 must be the inbred spawn of that dog.... It is buggy in a way that only MS can be...

That said, if you can get it cheapish and iWork isn't an option (which it sounds like it isnt), the upgrade is worth it for the nicer interface and improved compatibility (.docx for example) is worth it.

Hmmm yeah, compatibility is slowly driving me to look at 08. All the uni labs have upgraded to Office 07 (PCs).

I guess I can just use my work laptop for Excel...

[Elbo]

Tu plang, I am using Office 2007 for Windows through Parallels. It has so much more functionality than Office 2004 for Mac, although it takes a bit of getting used to. I have used Office 08 for Mac, although not extensively, and even though it is supposed to be Intel native, found it slow and worse than Office 2007 for Windows. There is not much difference in features between 2004 and 2008 versions for Mac, apart from the removal of VB and a change in interface.
There is only really added compatibility if everyone is using .docx or .xlsx, we've had some problems at uni with some of my classmates' presentations in Powerpoint not coming through properly and the formatting being all over the shop.

Using Parallels and Office 2007 has worked great for me, and I use Excel a lot in my Accounting degree.

[top_dog]

Hmmm yeah, compatibility is slowly driving me to look at 08. All the uni labs have upgraded to Office 07 (PCs).


I have the same problem. I am just saving all my documents as old type Office.

[treggs]

I'm not a regular mac user but surely dropping VB support is crazy. I don't think I have too many excel docs that don't have some sort of VB in them

[skivi]

i've got a scary problem when i insert cd's into my MacBook Pro, if the CD is just slightly scratched it sounds as though there is something inside the drive that is rubbing against the disk as it spins, it sounds very unhealthy and occurs with even mildly scratched CD's though not at all with well kept ones (aka my own not ones i borrow from the uni library)

is there a way of solving this problem?
is it the CD's fault or my drive?
should i just keep on steering clear of anything scratched?

[tu plang]

i've got a scary problem when i insert cd's into my MacBook Pro, if the CD is just slightly scratched it sounds as though there is something inside the drive that is rubbing against the disk as it spins, it sounds very unhealthy and occurs with even mildly scratched CD's though not at all with well kept ones (aka my own not ones i borrow from the uni library)

is there a way of solving this problem?
is it the CD's fault or my drive?
should i just keep on steering clear of anything scratched?

Nah thats a pretty standard noise. Sounds very disconcerting but its just the drive trying really hard to read the CD. I've had it before with CDs that didnt burn properly and really scratched CDs, though no slightly scratched ones. Try whiping the CD with a soft cloth.

Also, i just made the plunge with office 08. Its rubbish. Excel is useless, on first run i cant even see where to put titles and labels on the graphs... i ASSUME its there somewhere but its not at all obvious any more. Word 08 doesnt have the function typing ability that Word 07 for PC has introduced (something i ASSUMED would be in there)... all in all a waste of time.

[skivi]

thanks tu!

[slip]

Dig dig dig....

Got a MacBook 2.4 / 2gig ram. Some aspects are great, but others shit me.

Help.

Save As only lists Sidebar items as destination folder. I've now forgotten what program this was for, didn't note it down. Oh well.

Maximise. It doesn't. Maximises height, but not width. Can this be changed or is it part of the 'character'?

Trying to open a new document, or look through Finder - the windows are always too narrow. (It's in the explorer-like view, far right view option of 3). I have a lot of files similarly named, so it's less than helpful.

Video files brought over from my PC flicker when played. But, if you put another window on top of them they look perfect and stop flickering. Selected window = too light/flickers. Unselected and other window even SLIGHTLY overlapping = good video.

Deleting items from "Recent items" deletes the original file. Does it have to be this way? Didn't realised and cleaned the trash....gone forever.

So.... do I have to pay for iLife and iWork......?

I want to get the contacts from my mobile onto this laptop. Phone is Nokia, software is only for PC. What are my options? Have USB cable and Bluetooth connectivity but haven't been able to make anything happen apart from easily pulling pics/videos off the phone.

That's all I can think of now, but there's bound to be more.

Thanks.

[skivi]

i'l try and help but im no computer nerd, just someone that uses mac's a lot.


Maximise. It doesn't. Maximises height, but not width. Can this be changed or is it part of the 'character'?
click maximise (the green circle with the "+") and then click and drag on the lower right hand side of the windows corner and resize the window to your liking. every time you open that program, when maximised it should default at that size. finder windows however wont always do this.

Trying to open a new document, or look through Finder - the windows are always too narrow. (It's in the explorer-like view, far right view option of 3). I have a lot of files similarly named, so it's less than helpful. don't use that view if it is too confusing (and it is!). i think this s more of a problem your organising has not the mac's. try color coding folder titles or just naming them cleverly so they can be found quickly when searching via spotlight.

Video files brought over from my PC flicker when played. But, if you put another window on top of them they look perfect and stop flickering. Selected window = too light/flickers. Unselected and other window even SLIGHTLY overlapping = good video. weird.

Deleting items from "Recent items" deletes the original file. Does it have to be this way? Didn't realised and cleaned the trash....gone forever. not sure if it has to be that way but now you've learnt your lesson haven't you. also if you want to delet something from a USB device connected to the mac drag the file(s) from the device to the dektop trash and then make sure you empty the trash, otherwise they wont delete properly from the device.

So.... do I have to pay for iLife and iWork......? probably.

I want to get the contacts from my mobile onto this laptop. Phone is Nokia, software is only for PC. What are my options? Have USB cable and Bluetooth connectivity but haven't been able to make anything happen apart from easily pulling pics/videos off the phone.
get them onto a PC and transfer them to your mac later if you cant find a way any time soon.


a good hint for new mac converts is to go into system preferences > keyboard and mouse > mouse > enable the right side of the mouse as "secondary function" this is just like the "right click" on a pc mouse. very very handy.

[slip]

Yeah, Finder wont keep the column width changes. Bastard thing. It's files named very similarly, so organisational changes won't help.

Touchpad is actually great once setup properly (notebook). 2 finger scroll in both directions + right click. Very easy.

Thanks.

[Elbo]

Save As only lists Sidebar items as destination folder. I've now forgotten what program this was for, didn't note it down. Oh well.
When you go to save, click the down arrow next to the text box where you type in the title, this changes the 'save as' box to a Finder like window allowing you to navigate to where you want to save it. If you don't click the down arrow, you will just see something saying "Where:" and then a list of all the Sidebar items (pretty much the most common folders you use)

Trying to open a new document, or look through Finder - the windows are always too narrow. (It's in the explorer-like view, far right view option of 3). I have a lot of files similarly named, so it's less than helpful.You can double click on the "||" looking part at the bottom of any of the columns to resize that column horizontally so you can see the whole file name. If you want to resize all the columns, hold down Option and double-click on the "||" part of any column divider

Video files brought over from my PC flicker when played. But, if you put another window on top of them they look perfect and stop flickering. Selected window = too light/flickers. Unselected and other window even SLIGHTLY overlapping = good video.Are you playing these in Quicktime? I had the same problem with a few videos. Download "VLC Player". Its a free player that plays pretty much all codecs, including .avi.

[slip]

VLC doesn't have the flicker issue, must just be a PC to mac thing. Interesting that it only does it when in the foreground too.

Finder window resizing is easy, it's just annoying that I have to do it every time.

[Elbo]

VLC doesn't have the flicker issue, must just be a PC to mac thing. Interesting that it only does it when in the foreground too.
Yeah, that's got me stumped. Probably just a problem with the encoding when the video was made. I suppose the only other thing you could do is check that your software is up to date by going Apple Menu > Software Update.

[ridingismyreligion]

So.... do I have to pay for iLife and iWork......?



iLife is free, it comes with the computer. iWork costs $99.

[Pebble]

If you already have stuff like iPhoto & Garage Band on your computer then it has come with iLife. You may or may not have a trial version of iWork or the MS Office for Mac. I ended up buying iWork for $99.

My computer is an iMac and the first thing I did was enable the 2nd mouse button function, how else do you open links in a new tab when browsing the net!

I wish I could use time machine to back everything up to dvd's or something else until I buy an external hard drive.

[Elbo]

My computer is an iMac and the first thing I did was enable the 2nd mouse button function, how else do you open links in a new tab when browsing the net!
Pebble, a quicker way is if you go to Safari Preferences and go to the "Tabs" tab. Check the box which says "Command-Click opens a link in a new tab". I find it faster and easier to use command-click, especially if you're opening a lot of links.

[Pebble]

Pebble, a quicker way is if you go to Safari Preferences and go to the "Tabs" tab. Check the box which says "Command-Click opens a link in a new tab". I find it faster and easier to use command-click, especially if you're opening a lot of links.

Thanks for the tip, yes that would be a quicker way. However I mainly use Firefox.

Just for a laugh it will be a funny sight next week as I'll likely take the iMac to the local Telecentre to use their broadband so that I can download the OSX update. I spent several days / nights leaving it going on dialup (yeh we're on the internode unlimited plan). And this morning it wouldn't install it upon restart. So called Apple and they told me to download it all again from the Apple website! Grrr:mad:
So yeah, it's either go into town or try & get the update disc posted from Perth! Good reason for a laptop I suppose, but at least the macs are much lighter compared to carrying a heavy computer box (like the HP I had years ago and had to take in for several repairs!). You would never contemplate doing this with a normal computer!

[skivi]

i've been having a few problems when starting up my MacBook Pro lately.

i'll press the power button and the computer fails to make that loud internal "buzz-chickk" noise it usually makes and then computer wont boot up, it just stays at that slightly off-white screen without the apple logo ever appearing.

i usually have to hold down the "on" button to turn the computer off and the computer will usually fail to properly turn on for the next 1 or 2 times, then it will be successful.

what's the problem? how do i fix it? should i be worried?

nick

[indica]

i've been having a few problems when starting up my MacBook Pro lately.

i'll press the power button and the computer fails to make that loud internal "buzz-chickk" noise it usually makes and then computer wont boot up, it just stays at that slightly off-white screen without the apple logo ever appearing.

i usually have to hold down the "on" button to turn the computer off and the computer will usually fail to properly turn on for the next 1 or 2 times, then it will be successful.

what's the problem? how do i fix it? should i be worried?

nick

Maybe re install OSX, there is an option for archive and install, which will keep alll your information while allowing a clean install.
Alternatively, you can create a new user for log in purposes and see if the problem occurs still.
If it does not, then it is possibly a conflicting software problem, have you installed anything recently or changed any preferences?
If in doubt back everything up and then wipe the hd and start again.

[skivi]

Maybe re install OSX, there is an option for archive and install, which will keep alll your information while allowing a clean install.
Alternatively, you can create a new user for log in purposes and see if the problem occurs still.
If it does not, then it is possibly a conflicting software problem, have you installed anything recently or changed any preferences?
If in doubt back everything up and then wipe the hd and start again.

i did a repair of disk permissions, it's a been a while since i've done that.
i'll try the new log-in but if the problem persists i'll get a friends portable hard-drive and reinstall OSX.

i haven't installed anything new apart from regular software updates, the problem has happened before in the past, but recently it's been frequent, usually first thing in the morning when it's still freezing cold, but i doubt the temperature would effect the computer that much.

[indica]

you can archive and install on your existing hard drive without losing any data...

[will...]

I'm extremely close to buying a Macbook now that I get a rebate from Krudd, just wondering if these rumoured 'New' design Macbooks are ever gonna be released? Does anyone know anything, I've hunted around a couple of mac forums but didn't find anything other than fake pictures.

[W2ttsy]

Dig dig dig....

I want to get the contacts from my mobile onto this laptop. Phone is Nokia, software is only for PC. What are my options? Have USB cable and Bluetooth connectivity but haven't been able to make anything happen apart from easily pulling pics/videos off the phone.

That's all I can think of now, but there's bound to be more.

Thanks.

Depending on the nokia, you can use bluetooth or USB and iSync (applications folder) to sync your address book, ical calendar and mail to do lists with the nokia. iSync device list (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/)

personally, im hanging out another 8 days for iPhone! :D

W2ttsy

[slip]

Yes, they have conveniently omitted my phone from that list.

It's only one of the biggest selling nokias, wouldn't want to sync with that.

[tupper]

Bumpy,

Is there anyone else here using Parallels and willing to give a noob a hand?

[Elbo]

Bumpy,

Is there anyone else here using Parallels and willing to give a noob a hand?
I'm using Parallels tupper.. don't know too much about it, but what did you need help with?

[3viltoast3r]

Get vmware fusion....much better well worth the cost

[tupper]

I'm using Parallels tupper.. don't know too much about it, but what did you need help with?

I have the full version installed etc etc, but now im stuck of what to do. It says its running Windows using boot camp, but I have not installed any windows operating system on Parallels. So when i open it, i get the black boot screen but thats it.

Do i still need to go back and install a Windows OS?

If so, how do i go about it? Ive been reading through all readmes and tutorials but they are so damn technical!

[Elbo]

I have the full version installed etc etc, but now im stuck of what to do. It says its running Windows using boot camp, but I have not installed any windows operating system on Parallels. So when i open it, i get the black boot screen but thats it.

Do i still need to go back and install a Windows OS?

If so, how do i go about it? Ive been reading through all readmes and tutorials but they are so damn technical!
Were you using Windows under bootcamp before? Parallels is like the framework to run Windows. You will need to install Windows through Parallels (in Parallels go File > New, then follow the prompts to install an operating system). Hope that helps.

[mountain_bike man]

This has been covered before, but only for pc computers.
Ive got an ipod with lots of podcasts and music ect.
And i want to put it onto my macbook.
Are there any programs that allow you to do this or will i have to download them all again...:confused:
Cheers guys.
Any help will be much appreciated.

[tupper]

Mountain Bike Man watch this, might help.
Ok: Edit finding mac version

EDIT EDIT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VStMLLPg_9I&feature=related

[mountain_bike man]

Thanks tupper, but i need one for a mac system (os x version 10.5.4)
Thanks.


Thanks tupper worked great

[tupper]

Try that one ^^

[tupper]

Who else's keyboard gives them an electric shock?

[Pebble]

Are you talking about a iMac or MacBook?

I don't get any electric shocks from my MacBook keyboard, but I used to from my old Toshiba laptop, particularly if my wrists or hands happened to rest on the speakers.

My mighty mouse died on me, so I brought some other thing (Laser brand?) with the side buttons and scroll wheel - works great, only thing missing is a 360deg scroll which is ok.

[indica]

Where are the temporary files stored?
I want to keep some of the online videos I watch but cannot find where they go, I have checked the cache, but apparently only files under 1mb are kept there.

[indica]

Okay .. I found it here /var/tmp/folders.501/TemporaryItems .
The file I found is called FlashTmp0 and is the same size as the video I just watched but is not a video file, it is a document, anyone know what to do with that?

[Pebble]

If you have downloaded them to your computer probably the downloads folder?

What about using the search (magnifyin glass on top right) and type in the file name if you know it? Or I suppose temps have their own long numerical names?

Sorry, I don't really know.

[indica]

If you have downloaded them to your computer probably the downloads folder?

What about using the search (magnifyin glass on top right) and type in the file name if you know it? Or I suppose temps have their own long numerical names?

Sorry, I don't really know.

It wasn't a download, like watching a youtube, but a different site.
I found the file, but can't see what to do with it as it is a .doc and not .flv or .mov ... thanks anyway!

[faith_rider]

There is a sneaky little trick in Safari that relates to what you are trying to do, indica.

Safari can download embedded stuff out of the box, without any add ons. Go to a website with the embedded stuff on it and let it start playing, click Window > Activity

Your then generally looking for the biggest file or the one still loading if the embedded content is still buffering. Just double click that file and it will open it in a new Window, and if it is a media file of any sort, in an embedded Quicktime player from which you can save the file :D

[indica]

Just done that now, and the file I am downloading is index.php ... this is not video, but the same size as the video file so I am certain it is the right one.

[Cedel]

Lame question, I know; cheapest way to get an ipod charger? Thanks. :)

[slip]

What the hell.

This thing (Macbook, fairly new, 2.4gig processor, 160gig HDD with 64gig free) is running pretty slowly recently.

Opening new tabs of Farkin causes a pause, it just freezes up for that second. This is with just Safari running, maybe MSN messenger as well.

Office is installed but not running.

Could I have picked up some Spyware/Adware? Do these still affect Macs? I know the whole virus thing is a bit different, but unsure about the spyware side of things.

Grrrr.

[indica]

What the hell.

This thing (Macbook, fairly new, 2.4gig processor, 160gig HDD with 64gig free) is running pretty slowly recently.

Opening new tabs of Farkin causes a pause, it just freezes up for that second. This is with just Safari running, maybe MSN messenger as well.

Office is installed but not running.

Could I have picked up some Spyware/Adware? Do these still affect Macs? I know the whole virus thing is a bit different, but unsure about the spyware side of things.

Grrrr.

Sometimes my G5 slows down.
Close all programs and go to force quit and relaunch finder, this should help.
I have not had any adware/spyware on mine and I have had it connected to the internet for nearly a year constantly.

[Axela8]

There's basically no adware/spyware on Macs - just doesn't happen because of the way the OS runs (in short).
If your Mac's running slow, get yourself MainMenu from www.macupdate.com or www.versiontracker.com
Run all the maintenance stuff, including emptying the browser caches.
Restart the Mac and hold down the 'command-option-P-R' keys (command has the Apple logo on it).
Keep the keys held down, listen for the chime, continue to keep the keys held down and let the chime go 3 times. You just zapped the PRAM (parameter RAM).
That's a general cleanup and should fix a bag of problems.

[$$Noble$$]

a free video converter that can change it from dvd's or avi to ipod format. tried handbrake and fmmggt (<something like that)

[top_dog]

Do you ever turn it off at night? If you do, it doesn't get a chance to run the cleaning scripts. I used Maintidget and it made a massive difference to the responsiveness of the OS.

http://www.giantmike.com/widgets/Maintidget.html

[slip]

I always turn it off when not in use, I boot and shut down quite often.

Is this a no-no?

[top_dog]

I always turn it off when not in use, I boot and shut down quite often.

Is this a no-no?

Not really, the OS runs daily, weekly and monthly maintenance scripts (clearing caches etc) at about 4am, so you would be missing out on the maintenance. When I first ran the scripts they hadn't been done for over a year because I always turn mine off as well.

To check when they were last run type this into the terminal:

ls -al /var/log/*.out

If they were last run more than a month ago it could be your problem.

To actually run the scripts use:

sudo periodic daily weekly monthly

See http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/maintscripts.html for more info.

[mountain_bike man]

Lame question, I know; cheapest way to get an ipod charger? Thanks. :)

Buy a USB charger from dick smith and insert the stock cable you got with the ipod into that which charges your ipod. I think they are about $20 bucks.




For transfering videos so they work on a mac,
i use isquint and it works great.

[bellto]

i'd make a vista problems page but, ya know it would remain empty.

[Cedel]

Buy a USB charger from dick smith and insert the stock cable you got with the ipod into that which charges your ipod. I think they are about $20 bucks.

Sorry, I meant the cable that you get with them that lets you hook it up to the computer.

[tupper]

i'd make a vista problems page but, ya know it would remain empty.

haha, just one massive email list straight to windows..

[tupper]

OK anyone got a Sony Ericcson? If so, what programs do you use to sync with your Mac?

[clockworked]

OK anyone got a Sony Ericcson? If so, what programs do you use to sync with your Mac?


easylistening is pretty good for transferring music with itunes - thats what i use. i have a little patch for contacts and stuff too - but i use it so little i forget what its called off the top of my head

[slip]

Yeah I've got a Nokia 6330 and the software won't load to Mac, how can I get all my contacts off the phone and backup to HDD on the laptop?

Downloaded Mainmenu. Cleared broswer cache, and ran all maintenance scripts. Safari problem is now worse, longer pause when opening new tab before any more functions can be performed. I open all the threads in a new tab from the main forum page, and I can mouse to the next thread, doublefingerclick, and it has to wait before the menu will appear, can't scroll etc. All inputs then happen very quickly once the pause is over. It's like using an oldschool computer with low memory.

What exactly should I run in Mainmenu? Everything I can get my hands on, or what? Should I be clearing everything I can? Don't know exact functions of some operations... or many at all really.

[tupper]

This didn't need a new thread, but i thought i'd let you Mac lovers know:

"After dumping its $10 million contract with Jerry Seinfeld after just three ads (only two of which even aired) Microsoft has created new ad copy where regular people and a few celebrities say, “I’m a PC!” One problem with the campaign’s credibility: the ad work was created using Macs."

[indica]

How do I extract the data from .bin files?
It is not video so I don't need to play it in VLC.

[ThePig]

Hi there, I'm having some dramas with my Mac at the moment.

I'm currently running Safari (latest version) for web browsing. I have noticed today that for some reason I cant load Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com) webpage at all to watch videos. I loaded once but it took ages and didn't display properly.

Before this it was running fine and I could view it with the same ease as all other websites. I have flip4mac and silverlight installed, I also cleared my cache and updated Safari. No joy so far.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I'm a bit of a noob with Mac stuff. Any help would be appreciated.:)

[Gluey_trails]

Question about Time machine.

Recently my HDD crashed for reasons unknown, and I backed up all my stuff the night before fortunately, How do i get everything back on the way it all was before?

[GrooveJet]

Question about external hard drives.

Just wanted to know if there are any particular brands that work well with mac & any to avoid? :confused:

For use on a 4yr old imac and just wanting to put a crap load of photos on it.

Any suggestions would be good.
Thanks

[whitey89]

Question about external hard drives.

Just wanted to know if there are any particular brands that work well with mac & any to avoid? :confused:

For use on a 4yr old imac and just wanting to put a crap load of photos on it.

Any suggestions would be good.
Thanks

Im looking around at the moment too, i hear that some come with alot of formating so they say they are 300G but they are actually 290or what ever, but im not sure. Also, if you can get a cheap one with a fire wire cable instead of USB cause its faster and wont clog your usb drives up.
Ill prob go for the cheapest option i can.

[Joel O]

seems like the sort of thing that would either already have been asked or be deadly obvious but a search revealed nothing so...

using the stock software on OSX am i able to resize photos for uploading like i can using paint with windows?

first mac, so far i love it, just can't figure this one out :o

[Pebble]

Question about external hard drives.

Just wanted to know if there are any particular brands that work well with mac & any to avoid? :confused:

For use on a 4yr old imac and just wanting to put a crap load of photos on it.

Any suggestions would be good.
Thanks

I did a bit of research on these before buying one. I thought it best to get something reliable and compatible with time machine. I ended up going for a Western Digital My Book, Studio Edition 500GB, got it on line from TechBuy .

So far it seems to work a treat, automatically backs up everything on a regular basis and if I make significant changes I can tell it to "back up now"

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=372#jump11

[clockworked]

seems like the sort of thing that would either already have been asked or be deadly obvious but a search revealed nothing so...

using the stock software on OSX am i able to resize photos for uploading like i can using paint with windows?

first mac, so far i love it, just can't figure this one out :o

Yeah no problem - iphoto can do that. But it only has 3 arbitary sizes - small medium and large.
There are heaps of little apps you can download like iResize that do little things like that.

as for harddrives - any usb or firewire drive will work, your mac will format it and off you go

[v1llage1d1ot]

Yeah no problem - iphoto can do that. But it only has 3 arbitary sizes - small medium and large.
There are heaps of little apps you can download like iResize that do little things like that.

as for harddrives - any usb or firewire drive will work, your mac will format it and off you go


iphoto will allow you to scale images, which is the same as resize.

[Elbo]

I did a bit of research on these before buying one. I thought it best to get something reliable and compatible with time machine. I ended up going for a Western Digital My Book, Studio Edition 500GB, got it on line from TechBuy .

So far it seems to work a treat, automatically backs up everything on a regular basis and if I make significant changes I can tell it to "back up now"

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=372#jump11
Good choice Pebble. My old man also uses these WD My Book drives at his shop (he is an authorised Apple reseller) and has it linked to the Time Machine function of Leopard. He has also sold quite a few to customers. Adding to Pebble's comment, I would definitely recommend them as well.

[Joel O]

Sorry, I meant the cable that you get with them that lets you hook it up to the computer.if you're still after one, PM me your mailing address. my classic just got stolen, cable is no good to me now :mad:

[3viltoast3r]

Im using an Lemel enclosure and a 400gb seagate hdd..........I formmated 100gb for time machine (hdfs+) and the other 300 into NTFS.

I downloaded macFUSE (which is similar to microsoft .NET framework AND NTFS-3G wich allows me to write to NTFS drives under mac environment......Good shit, all intel Mac's should get this installed

[Pebble]

Im using an Lemel enclosure and a 400gb seagate hdd..........I formmated 100gb for time machine (hdfs+) and the other 300 into NTFS.

I downloaded macFUSE (which is similar to microsoft .NET framework AND NTFS-3G wich allows me to write to NTFS drives under mac environment......Good shit, all intel Mac's should get this installed

:o And that dear Sir is beyond me!

But yes in my research I came across Seagate which seemed like one of the top choices too. All the - well "computer geeks" is probably the best way to put it, seemed to prefer building up their own hard drives with certain "chassis?, cases?" and internals etc etc. I suppose it's just like bikes, if you dig deep enough and learn a few things you take a different course in your choices.

But yes for now I have a look at the formating but had no idea how, and would be too afraid to wipe something out!

[Pebble]

Yeah no problem - iphoto can do that. But it only has 3 arbitary sizes - small medium and large.
There are heaps of little apps you can download like iResize that do little things like that.

as for harddrives - any usb or firewire drive will work, your mac will format it and off you go

Yes I use IPhoto to resize them. Probably a round about way but I select all the photos, then click on email, then when it brings them up in the size selected in Mail I do a right click and "save to downloads folder". The images are then in the downloads folder ready to upload. Like I said though probably a round about way of doing it.

[sockman]

Anyone looking for an external HDD should go a networked drive. Set up a VPN and access your porn/music/videos/porn from anywhere in the world!

[will...]

Does anyone know how to host your iPhoto Library from an external drive, everytime I copy it over to the ext hdd it makes a duplicate and I've got about 4 gigs left on ye old macbook.