Airport Question for a Mac Newbie

I just got a Macbook Pro and I also bought the Airport Extreme. When I click on the Airport Icon I can see about 15 or so different networks at any given time. I have a 2 part question. First how do I know which network/router is mine? How can I rename the network that is listed? I am very new to Mac's and wireless networking. I just want to make sure that I have protected my network properly. I set up a password for WAP is that all I need to do? One last thing, is there anyway I can make sure that I am protected properly? Thanks Much!!!
MacBook Pro 2GHz Mac OS X (10.4.5)

A question eh? My counting must be off I see at least 4 question marks...
You know which router is yours because you set it up and named it. If you still can't figure it out you should pick a better name. When you click on your network and type in your password you should be able to connect.
To rename a network you will need to connect to it and run the AirPort Admin Utility which is location in the "Utilities" folder in your "Applications" folder.
If by WAP you mean WPA then you are off to a great start. When you picked the password I hope you didn't make it too easy to guess. Try putting numbers, letters and symbols in it and you should make it at least 16 charaters long to be sure that you are safe (I use 24 characters).
I would suggest looking at this tutorial from Apple - it might help answer some questions and should give you a better understanding:
http://www.apple.com/support/panther/tutorials/internet/index.html

Similar Messages

Yet Another Hard Drive Question from a Mac Newbie

I apologize in advance for the length of this post -- as I state in the subject line, I am a complete Mac newbie.
I just took delivery yesterday on a new (early 2008) Mac Pro. I purchased and installed an additional 8GB RAM, and ordered it with a 500GB HD (Seagate, it looks like) and purchased two 750GB Hitachi HDs for bays 2 and 3. I will be doing a fair amount of photo editing, and also plan to partition the OS drive to run XP using bootcamp, but also plan to use VM Fusion.
I am thinking of partitioning the boot drive with 250GB for OS X and apps, 150 GB for XP and apps, and ~66 remaining possibly to be used as scratch memory for CS3, though it sounds like this may not be enough. The bay 2 Hitachi would be used for all my user data (photos, music, docs, etc.) bay 3 would be for backup initially, possibly using Time Machine? (other recommendations welcomed). As space becomes an issue in the future, I will invest in a fourth internal HD, and at least 2TB external HDs for backup.
Does this seem like a reasonable plan? If so, how do I go about formatting the drives and installing boot camp, Fusion, etc., and in what order? Also, how best do I organize my existing files from my current Windows machine as I copy them to the new user data HD, so they can be accessed as needed by both OS X and XP?
Thanks for your help.

I like the boot volume to never get beyond 50% used. Enough room for burning dual-layer DVDs can be 50GB for best results. And to force the system to use the first outer tracks.
I hope you are concurrently zeroing both drives. SoftRAID is my choice for driver for RAIDs and you can cancel safely at any time. There are also excellent tools for checking sectors and mapping out bad blocks.
I put Vista on its own 10K Raptor. I had it on the boot drive but I am always changing my mind, my drives and setup. Vista needs at least 40GB and that is with all my major documents and files on another drive which holds 150GB out of 450GB.
You set the preference for what drive to use as scratch in CS3 or other programs. And you want to disable Spotlight indexing on any scratch or editing partition. Scratch can be a drive, a volume, a stripped array. Any 'normal' partition though don't use the default (journaling) feature is all.
How large? I'd have to see and know how large files, work flow, and how long you work between projects. The nice thing, erase the scratch volume between projects but it is possible to use 300GB when you work on 1.5GB files and above.
One early Mac Pro owner wasn't able to work as they wanted until they had 10-12GB RAM, boot RAID0, and RAIDs for scratch and data (saving 2GB files and not having to wait forever, which even a minute can feel like forever).
Disk Utility: Partition. You can even partition 2+ drives, just make them the same, and first create 2 partitions (100GB on each?) and then stripe the first "Untitled 1" of each into 100GB x n array. Stripe or mirror the "Untitled 2" or leave those are two unique non-RAID volumes. Sounds harder than it is.
Scratch = temp space and designed to not be saved, to be erased as needed.
SoftRAID.com 3.6.6 makes it easy to create, delete, erase volumes and arrays as needed. Leopard has improved on non-RAID but not with RAIDs (for those that change their minds).

Blogger usage question for recent Mac switcher

I was wondering , as a recent switcher, is there a way to transfer pictures onto blogger.com like hello/picasa? From the PC, picasa would basically load all pictures from my HD and send what I wanted to the Blogspot for publishing on my page. Is there a similar app for macs, either for the free blogger.com or a way to post pictures? Thanks, Pete
http://circularmusic.blogspot.com/

Macworld just did an article on blogging tools for the Mac. The article is on-line at www.macworld.com/2005/10/features/betterblog/index.php

Stupid question from a Mac newbie: multiple users for webbased email

This problem has infuriated me over the last 4 hours---likely a keychain/cookie issue--- but help has been hard to find. New computer Latest OS X.
I use safari (or firefox) to log into a web based email account (happens to be an exchange server). initial screen comes up. Click on 'log in'. Up pops a username/password screen. Type in user name, password, don't click on "save password", get into my email account--- no problem. Check email, happy.
My wife, wants to log into her account.
I quit safari or firefox. She clicks on the icon. initial screen comes up. Click on 'log in' and up comes MY EMAIL. She did not log on.
Not sure what to do. Want to set up the web-based email to not automatically log someone into another persons' email as I want to use this computer basically as one account, with multiple people logging into muliple web based email.
Can this be done easily?

Hi,
I quit safari or firefox. ...
Just to be devils advocate, mind if I ask how you quit the applications? If you just closed the window by clicking the red circle at the top left corner, then both Safari and Firefox would still be running with your login session details still active.
Try pressing command+q to really quit the application (or click and hold the Dock icon and select Quit). Alternatively, select 'Logout' (or the equivalent option) on your web email account to close your active session.

Internet/General questions from a Mac newbie

Hey there. Well, after spending my whole life on a PC, I've decided to switch over to Mac. I'll be going off to college in the fall, and so I went with the Macbook Pro.
Alright, to the questions. I've always only had ONE computer in my house. And so, I have one cable modem attached to it, no router. I want to get on the net on my MBP just in the upcoming months before I'm off to college, where they'll have plenty of net connection options.
So my question is: should I go with wireless? If I do this, would I need to get a wireless router? How exactly does it work, i.e. do I plug just any cable cord into it, and bang, wireless throughout my house? I was looking into the Linksys WRT54G for this, but I hear mentions of Airport Extreme. I guess I'm just pretty confused by routers in general.
Now, my main computer is downstairs, but I'll want to use the laptop upstairs. There's a cable cord up there...can I somehow use that to connect to a box or anything to connect as an ethernet plug? Will that be much faster than wireless?
I have an EVDO phone with DUN that I plan on using if none of those options work out. Will the previous methods be much faster than using the phone via bluetooth or USB?
I'm obsessed with speed.
That's it for the internet portion...but I'm going to throw in a few extra questions instead of starting a whole different thread; they're pretty miscellaneous.
If I want to transfer files from my old computer to this one, what's the best way to do that? Could I (or should I) just access them remotely? You can point me to a thread where this is located if that's easier and already answered.
Last one. I want to use boot camp. I have a Windows XP Home CD...but I've heard you NEED the CD to have SP2 on it. Mine does not. Could I just use the one I have, and install sp2 once windows is installed? If not, I'd need to get a brand new copy of Windows Home or Pro? Are there advantages to Pro over Home, if I go that route (I hear talk of dual-core...)?
Thank you so much, these are very important (yet way too plentiful) questions.

This is really very simple despite the fact that the others dragged the thread off in some direction.
So my question is: should I go with wireless? If I do
this, would I need to get a wireless router? How
exactly does it work, i.e. do I plug just any cable
cord into it, and bang, wireless throughout my house?
I was looking into the Linksys WRT54G for this, but I
hear mentions of Airport Extreme. I guess I'm just
pretty confused by routers in general.
Apple sometimes makes up their own cutesy names that are confusingly different than what everybody else calls something. AirPort Extreme is merely Apple's brand of 802.11g, which is a standard all new wireless routers support, including Linksys.
If you have a cable modem, you can use an Ethernet cable to plug in a wireless router, which will take your cable modem signal and blast it all over the house. At that point, you are like an internet cafe. Your Mac or PC laptop should recognize the signal and you're off and running (subject to the limitations of wireless, which you should know about since you're obsessed with speed).
I very much doubt that a second cable modem is a practical option. You will probably have to pay for a second cable account. The router is the standard solution, because it takes one connection and routes it to multiple computers.
Now, my main computer is downstairs, but I'll want to
use the laptop upstairs. There's a cable cord up
there...can I somehow use that to connect to a box or
anything to connect as an ethernet plug? Will that be
much faster than wireless?
A good wireless router like the Linksys WRT54G also has wired Ethernet ports. You can plug your desktop into that. Your desktop and cable modem are downstairs, so it will make sense to plug the wireless router into the cable modem and connect the desktop to the router. That way, the router will do the job it's designed for: routing the cable modem signal to both the desktop and the wireless transmitter.
You could possibly plug and play, but it will be best for you to read the router manual to learn how to open the router's internal home page in your Mac or PC web browser and look through the router settings. If you are concerned about network security, then you will also want to turn on the password for the wireless portion of your network.
I'm sure you could use that EVDO phone...but wouldn't the Internet airtime cost a lot of money? The speed depends on your phone connection. I hear it varies. The cable modem is almost certainly faster, though.
If I want to transfer files from my old computer to
this one, what's the best way to do that? Could I (or
should I) just access them remotely? You can point me
to a thread where this is located if that's easier
and already answered.
You can use the network wizard in Windows to set up a share and then get to it from the Mac, or turn on file sharing on the Mac and get to it from the PC. My Macs and PC can all share files when needed.
Last one. I want to use boot camp. I have a Windows
XP Home CD...but I've heard you NEED the CD to have
SP2 on it. Mine does not. Could I just use the one I
have, and install sp2 once windows is installed?
This is not official word but I hear you MUST have SP2 on the CD.
not, I'd need to get a brand new copy of Windows Home
or Pro? Are there advantages to Pro over Home, if I
go that route (I hear talk of dual-core...)?
Try this comparison.

Video transfer question for older mac 10.5.8

I am trying to figure out how to transfer video from my JVC GR-D770U video camera to my PowerPC G5 running 10.5.8. I have the proper firewire cable but have been unable to find answer for my question on the internet that is specific to my situation.

docone wrote:
I am trying to figure out how to transfer video from my JVC GR-D770U video camera to my PowerPC G5 running 10.5.8. I have the proper firewire cable but have been unable to find answer for my question on the internet that is specific to my situation.
... I dont have iMovie and cant find a version that works with my older OS.
The camera videos are on a Digital Video Cassette tape, not a card.
Use iMovie with your Firewire (IEEE 1394) connected mini DV camcorder.
iMovie 6 HD is part of iLife '06, works great with older miniDV camcorders,
and is compatible with your Mac OS X 10.5.8. You will need to install
iMovie '06 before you can use the downloadable latest update from the link.
If you cannot find it locally, this old version is available on-line, including Amazon.com.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.9.3

Safari display help for a Mac newbie!

Hi everyone,
I have never used Macs before so I hope this question isn't too ridiculous...!
When using Safari, all the web pages I open are either half or three-quarters the size of the screen even when I use the little plus (maximize) button in the top left hand corner.
Only one page has ever fitted the full screen. Is there any way to make all pages opened with safari full-screen size? I've fiddled around with the settings but to no avail...
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The easiest way I have found to do this is to high light and drag the following java script to your bookmarks menu bar. Name it any thing you want. I called mine re-size. Click it and it will expand the window full page. It works with Safari 2, safari 3 beta, FireFox, Omni-wed, and SeaMonkey.
Full screen script for browsers
javascript:self.moveTo(0,0);self.resizeTo(screen.availWidth,screen.availHeight);

Some basic questions from a mac newbie

hi,
i have been using linux and windows all this while, and recently began using an apple too. have some simple questions here that i hope to get some answers for.
1. is there something similar to /etc/hosts in linux where i can add the IP address of a server? this is for me to use the 'ssh' command in the terminal
2. when i open up an application, say safari or chrome, i want the window to fill the entire screen automatically, instead of having to drag the bottom right of the window to fill the screen. how to configure that?
3. when i close an application by clicking on the 'x' at the top left, why is it that it still appears in the list when i press command+tab? to remove the application from the list, i have to right click on its icon on the dock, then click 'quit'. this is rather troublesome.
appreciate any help!

1. is there something similar to /etc/hosts in linux where i can add the IP address of a server? this is for me to use the 'ssh' command in the terminal
The /etc/hosts file is there, but the /etc/ folder is hidden. You can use the Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities/) to access it via Unix, or could enter "open /etc" in the Terminal to open that folder in the Finder.
However, I'm not sure how this relates to ssh... I have not needed to modify that file, yet I can ssh all I need to. Are you trying to connect to your new Mac via ssh, or connect to other machines from the Mac via ssh?
2. when i open up an application, say safari or chrome, i want the window to fill the entire screen automatically, instead of having to drag the bottom right of the window to fill the screen. how to configure that?
Just drag the window out to full-screen and the browser should remember and open new windows at that size in the future. There are also some utilities (one called "Right Zoom" IIRC?) that will make the zoom button (green + button) behave more like the Windows zoom button.
3. when i close an application by clicking on the 'x' at the top left, why is it that it still appears in the list when i press command+tab?
Applications shouldn't quit just because you close their last window, unless the application's entire user interface is contained within that window. That is the case with ALL Windows apps, since there's no global menu bar, but only in some Mac apps. This is something that always ticked me off big-time with Windows... there have been times when I carelessly closed a window I didn't need anymore, but wanted to keep using the app, and then had to wait for it to load again. That won't happen on the Mac.
If this bothers you, just use the key combination command-Q to quit apps.

Question from a Mac Newbie Regarding Managing Photos

Hi all,
I just moved to Mac so I moved all my pictures from my external HD to iPhoto. Now, after I have done that I realized that iPhoto doesn't give you the option to easily access your pictures and make changes or delete like when using Windows, unless it's thru iPhoto. Im serious photography hobbyist and im between buying Lightroom or Aperture. I like iPhoto and its ease of use but Id like to edit my pictures on a serious software so I setup iPhoto to edit pictures on a trial version I have for LIghtroom. I guess my question is, would it be easier to manage my pictures on iphoto and aperture instead of lightroom? Also, which software (lightroom or aperture) will allow me to have a backup of my pictures in the way they were on my Windows PC?
Thank you in advance for all your help

Yes, if you do "referenced" files in Aperture, and are using the latest versions of Aperture (3.3+) and iPhoto (9.3+) then they'll all be visible in the Finder.
They're not all in one big folder in the Finder. Aperture has lots of options (and I mean LOTS of options) for how and where it stores the files on disk. You can choose the folder naming structure, all sorts of subfolder options, etc. Honestly, there can be an overwhelming number of options. Easiest for your sanity is to choose Finder folder names that match your project names in Aperture. I have mine organized in subfolders by year/month/date, but that's Aperture 201 and I'm offering 101 advice because you're a new user and it can be complex. Aperture makes it trivially easy to move from one naming structure to another in Finder whenever you want... the only issue with that is if you're pointing Lightroom at the same files on disk, if you move them in Aperture, Lightroom will totally freak out.
Basically you NEVER want to change the folder structure on disk via Finder... EVER, if your're using iPhoto, Aperture, or Lightroom. You should always use the application to do that. And if you're using Aperture and Lightroom, and use one to change the folder structure, it will break the other. So be careful with that.

Printing from Airport Extreme for both Mac and PC

I have both a mac and a PC. Both are connected to the internet using the Airport Extreme. Here's my problem. Currently I can only print from the Mac but not the PC. I was told that I would be using the airport extreme I would be able to use one printer for both computers. The printer I am using is an HP Office Jet 6310, which is compatible with both a Mac and a PC. Can anyone help me?

I recently purchased a Canon Pixma MP610 and it is connected to an AE. My Macbook prints fine to it. My PC laptop doesn't. I used to have a Canon Pixma 1600 that printed fine for both computers (I used iFelix's 1004.html steps to install for the PC)
I have tried the Add Printer on the PC using the same 1004.html steps with no luck. I have also used the 1008.html steps to install using the Bonjour Wizard with no luck.
When I say no luck, I mean it sees the printer, it has the proper drivers, but when I print a test page, it can't connect.
I Add a Printer and test and it fails, I then delete the printer and install it a different way. The weird thing is hours later, the test page will be there sitting on my printer. But I don't know why it took so long or which printer install method worked.
I have now installed 4-5 different printers and hit Test Page on all of them. I named each printer something different so in case the Test page comes out, I'll know which printer works.
I'm almost there I feel, but just can't get it.
Any suggestions iFelix or anyone else?

IF I upgrade Airport Extreme for intel Mac, will it work on a G4 powerbook?

I have a Mac Book Pro, my husband a G4 powerbook. WE are currently connected by an airport extreme base station.
I understand my book has the software for 802.11n. If I upgrade the base station firmware to 7.1.1 will both computers still be able to work??
Please help!!
Thanks
Mac Book Pro Intel Core 2 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.9) 1 GB memory

I understand my book has the software for 802.11n. If I upgrade the base station firmware to 7.1.1 will both computers still be able to work??
Yes.

Codec Question for the Mac...

Background: I use Premiere Pro infrequently since I also own Final Cut Express and only need Premiere when I am doing something I shot in 24p mode - since FCE doesn't support frame rates other than 29.97 and 25.
Computer Specs:
Apple Mac Mini (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GHz, 4 Gig RAM, 1 TB FireWire 400 drive as scratch)
So far I have tried bringing in the native AVCHD files and playing them back - and I get jumpy and unusable playback (I know this is to be expected). I also tried using the QuickTime files that use Apple Intermediate Codec and Uncompressed Audio, and I get worse playback.
When I pull up activity monitor I see "ImportProcessServer" running at full torque - which leads me to believe that although Premiere supports both formats without transcoding, my little Mac Mini just doesn't have the power to do it in real time.
My question - is there another codec that I could transcode my content to that would not require the ImportProcessServer to be running? Put another way, is there a native codec for Adobe that would be less processor intensive than AVCHD so I could edit content. I have Adobe Media Encoder so I have some flexibility as far as codecs.
Thanks!
- Brian
PS - As for "why don't you just get final cut studio" - I need Blu-ray authoring capability and don't want to spend more than I need must.

I figured out a solution and figured I'd post it for future reference should someone else have the same problem.
What I realized was that I needed to transcode my content from AVCHD (which was too demanding for my Mini inside of Encore - other apps can play it fine for the record) into a native codec that wouldn't be as demanding? My solution - MPEG-2. Transcoding into MPEG-2 at 30 Mbps allowed me to preserve most of the original quality (some was lost, but when you're starting with 17 Mbps H.264 allowing for 30 Mbps MPEG-2 seemed about right) while editing the file inside of Premiere Pro without difficulty. The other bonus is that the in the process of transcoding I could remove the 3:2 pulldown inserted by the camera.

Airport question for psp

I tried conecting the airport to my psp, but it says error can't find #(forgot the number), it found the base, and the pppoe but there still an error...
Also I tried resetting the airport to no luck .
laptop Mac OS X (10.3.9)

ok:
communication with the server failed
A DNS error has occured
(80410410)
that's exactly how it looks like.
laptop Mac OS X (10.3.9)

A few questions from a Mac newbie

1. What kind of maintainence should I be doing on the mac? Do I need to defrag or run system cleaners (like ccleaner for windows)?
2. Will it eventually get messed up like Windows, or should be running as good as new years from now without reformatting?
3. Am I correct in assuming Software Update only updates the System and the official mac applications (iChat, iMovie etc.)?
4. I know viruses aren't as much of a threat, but should I install antivirus just to be on the safe side?
5. When I install new software, I'm assuming settings are saved somewhere else besides the Applications folder. Do these remove themselves when I delete the software?
6. If I eventually update to Leopard, will that do a clean install over Tiger, not corrupting anything? On Windows I know that upgrading Windows basically screwed over everything and messed up the registry permanently, and I'm hoping this isn't an issue with Mac OS.
7. Lastly, I've noticed that the longer the system is running for, the more memory is used (according to iStat at least), regardless of how many programs I'm running. Is this normal behavior, and is it slowing down the system?
Thanks, and I'm loving Mac OS, my only regret is that I didn't switch years ago.
Macbook (2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM) Mac OS X (10.4.9)

1. What kind of maintainence should I be doing on the mac? Do I need to defrag or run system cleaners (like ccleaner for windows)?
After any system update or security update, use DiskUtility to repair permissions. Maybe/maybe not necessary in all instances, but a good plan. You may also boot from an installer disk and run DiskUtility to repair the disk, maybe twice a year. You can also run fsck with the same frequency
http://macs.about.com/od/osx/a/running_fsck.htm
I follow the repair permissions rule, but seldom run fsck unless I notice problems. Opinions may vary.
2. Will it eventually get messed up like Windows, or should be running as good as new years from now without reformatting?
I lost my crystal ball
Seriously, disk corruption is a cross platform issue. If you're not the type to install every shareware app you can find, and don't mess around with stuff unnecessarily, or fool around with files you aren't familiar with, you should be OK.
3. Am I correct in assuming Software Update only updates the System and the official mac applications (iChat, iMovie etc.)?
Yes.
4. I know viruses aren't as much of a threat, but should I install antivirus just to be on the safe side?
Again, with the crystal ball
At this point, it's probably not necessary. However, you may wish to consider some course of action if you swap files with Windows users on a regular basis. Your Mac will be happy to host malware through infected emails, flash drives, web sites, etc...
Many folks recommend ClamAV
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24449
There are commercial apps available, but IMHO, they're not the most polished apps, possibly because there's no real demand for a reliable av app for OS X at this point.
5. When I install new software, I'm assuming settings are saved somewhere else besides the Applications folder. Do these remove themselves when I delete the software?
Yes, no, and sort of. Most of apps are contained in a package. Control-click on an application's icon, and you can view the stuff in the package. Deleting the app's icon form the Application folder will get rid of most of it. There will be preference files, mostly in youruserfolder/Library/Preferences. There may be scattered files elsewhere, but generally, none of them are big files, nor should they hurt performance if they stick around.
6. If I eventually update to Leopard, will that do a clean install over Tiger, not corrupting anything? On Windows I know that upgrading Windows basically screwed over everything and messed up the registry permanently, and I'm hoping this isn't an issue with Mac OS.
In the past, OS X has allowed you to perform a simple upgrade when going from 10.x to 10.y
I usually perform an archive and install, but that's just me.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
7. Lastly, I've noticed that the longer the system is running for, the more memory is used (according to iStat at least), regardless of how many programs I'm running. Is this normal behavior, and is it slowing down the system?
Yes, and maybe. OS X likes memory. I recommend 1 GB for 10.4. 10.3 seemed pretty good with 512 MB. Apple Discussions policy says I shouldn't speculate about memory requirements here for Leopard, so I won't, but you can think about the possibilities. More is better. If you fire up activity monitor and notice that you're down to 10 MB of free memory, I'd consider adding more.
hth
Jeff

Help for a Mac newbie please!

Hi all,
I just got my lovely MacBook Pro yesterday... and could use some help with these 2 problems...
1 - on my Windows PC I have a VPN connection to 1 of my clients. When I tried to set it up on the Mac it's asking for an IPSEC shared secret? Is there any way to disable this requirement, or does my client have to set a key on his server?
2 - I am having a problem connecting to my windows laptop through my home network...if I enable the Guest account on windows XP, the MacBook connects no problem. If however [as I really want to] I try to connect as a "proper" user with username and password, the Mac keeps telling me the username or password is wrong...which it definitely isn't!
My thought is regarding the "domain"...I don't have one set up at home...just a workgroup called "home"...so when I try to login I am only typing in the username...the tooltip for the usernae field says domain\username...do I need to put anything here for domain, and if I do, what...as there isnt one!
Thanks,
Nige

Try my post
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1359723&tstart=0

Airport Question for a Mac Newbie

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