HT1338 New to MAC
I want to buy my son a Mac Mini but do not know what to get. This is what he will use it for...recording music and general uses for school things.
I can't spend a ton of money so I am trying to figure out what to buy that will be sufficient and won't need to be upgraded real soon. We've been through the PC thing and every year it seems we are looking for a new one with a faster operating system of something. PLEASE HELP. Thanks.
To be honest, your son will probably want "newer & faster" every year, even if you buy him the best there is out there today. Your best bet is to probably buy the most you can afford. Keep in mind that you will want to strongly consider Apple Care for his new system (extends the system warrenty to 3 years from 1 year and costs about $350), and you will also need to get s display for it, since the Mac Mini doesn't have a display built in like the iMac or notebooks. A core i7 processor with at least 8GB RAM, and an Apple Fusion Drive setup should be plenty fast to last for a couple years at least.
Another thing to consider is what your son will be doing with the computer. If he needs to run specific software, he may need Windows anyway, so trying to force him onto a Mac might not be the best choice. You really need to find out from your Son exactly what he needs, and try to go from there.
Similar Messages
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new to macs - have 10.4.11 and an iMac 2 - older Mac by today's standards - is there a version of Itunes that would work on the OS?
I'm not certain what you mean by iMac 2. Is that the lamp shade model -- round half ball with stem & lcd display?
TenFourFox -- It's a port of the latest FireFox to run on older hardware and software.
"World's most advanced web browser. Finely tuned for the Power PC."
-- works for me on 10.4. Supports 10.5
http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/
alternative download site:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37761/tenfourfox
Turn on pipelining. This will allow Firefox to make simaltaneous requests to the server. Chrome has pipeling turned on. Some sites could fail to load with pipeling set on. The site will be old. See "Increase pipelining" in:
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/firefox-optimization-tips/
OmniWeb uses the lastest Safari framework. The open source WebKit. Other browsers like Safari and iCab use the OS version of WebKit. The OmniWeb downloaded dmg includes it's own copy of the latest WebKit.
http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/
Safari 4.1.3 for Tiger
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1069 -
just bought a new I-Mac. At start up several updates were needed. The I-movie one stopped and shows an ERROR HAS Occurred. Howevr it does not allow me to update it again. In my purchases it shows as Installed with Error. What should I do?
If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Select "/var/log/install.log" from the file list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar. Then select the messages from the last installation or update attempt, starting from the time when you initiated it. If you're not sure when that was, start over and note the time. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).
If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don’t post many repetitions of the same message.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Edit it out by search-and-replace in a text editor before posting. -
I am new to mac and have an older ibook g4...mac os x version 10.4.11 processor 1.42 ghzz powerpc g4....to be exact/How do I know what version of safari I am using and what to upgrade to- if I believe I have {panther}? Im Lost anybody please?
Take a look at TenFourFox.
TenFourFox likes lots of memory. Max out your machine.
tenfourfox -- It's a port of the latest FireFox to run on older hardware and software.
"World's most advanced web browser. Finely tuned for the Power PC."
http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/
alternative download site:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37761/tenfourfox
OmniWeb uses the lastest Safari framework. The open source WebKit. Other browsers like Safari and iCab use the OS version of WebKit. The OmniWeb downloaded dmg includes it's own copy of the latest WebKit.
http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/
Safari 4.1.3 for Tiger
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1069
iCab - The Taxi for the Internet
http://www.icab.de/
Look at what is happenning with your Mac when you run Activity Monitor.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor
Click on System Memory to get statistics on memory usage. You should have some free memory.
When you have lots of page outs more memory will be helpful. My entry for entry for Page ins/outs is:
Page ins/outs: 29163/0
Notice I have 0 pageouts which says that I am not using my harddrive for extra memory space. Thus, I have enough memory.
Activity Monitor has a neat feature where it can display a dynamic dock icon. In Activity Monitor View > Dock icon > Show cpu history.
"Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor :"
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107918
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Performance/Conceptual/ManagingMemory/A rticles/AboutMemory.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/20001880
See Kappy
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8025223#8025223
Problems from insufficient RAM and free hard disk space
http://thexlab.com/faqs/lackofram.html -
New to Mac... I have Partitioned my MacBookPro with Dual Boot Partitions running M.Lion and S. Leopard and a seperate media partition.
How do I assign my storage to the MEDIA Partition once I am booted in either OS?
Can I place a folder on my desktop so I can read/write ALL my media to?Why not? Make a folder in your media partition and put an alias folder (shortcut) on the desktop of each partition/ OS. You can right click on the folder in the media partition and click on "make alias".
If you want to direct your iTunes media to point to the media partition, google "move iTunes library to external disk" and follow the steps; the instructions should be the same for a seperate partition as it is for an external drive. -
I Tunes from External Hard Drive to new i- Mac
I have just purchased a new Apple i-mac.
I have used i Tunes for a number of years, but before upgrading, I copied my i-tunes library from my old Windows XP computer to an external hard drive.
Is it possible to install my old i-tunes library on my new i-mac ?Welcome to the forums SteadyOn
Two articles that should help you :
http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/geek-to-live--how-to-move-an-itunes-librar y-from-a-pc-to-mac-and-back-242468.php
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive
If you have more questions after reading those, come back and ask. -
Urgent help needed - new to Macs, accidently cut and paste over top of photo folder and now no sign of folder or file, no auto back-up in place, how can I restore photos pls
Thanks for prompt reply, yes we have tried that but have now closed down the browser we where the photos were.
We haven't sent up time machine, do you know whether there is any roll-back function on a Mac?
Thanks -
I'm a seller on eBay and very new to Mac. I just started to list an item when I got to the area of uploading pictures of an item to my listing. I cannot figure out how this is done. I downloaded pictures from my camera to iPhoto and they apear not only in my iPhoto library but in an eBay folder/album I created. When I go to upload photos I cannot find my photos in either the Library or the eBay album. I've tried using both the basic uploader and and standard uploader choices provided by eBay.
While running iPhoto you'll need to select the pictures you want to use for eBay and then select Export from the File menu. The Export Dialog box has several options and I believe the second option is File Export - that's the option you want to choose. Now you can select the picture quality, size, and export. The file selector will appear so you can indicate the folder you want the pictures to be exported into. Now you can take the next step, sending them to eBay.
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New to Mac questions about software
I am new to Mac. I am in need of a good client database software. The program I was using is not compatible with the Mac. I have found some that say they are Mac compatible but you need to install Windows or another type of software. I have had several people tell me not to install Windows on my Mac. Anyone have any suggestions. Help
Have a look at this thread which may answer your question:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6186687� -
New 2012 Mac mini having issues in connecting to third party Monitors. Connected my mac mini to a 27" LG monitor. Text looks blurred. Tried connecting to the monitor using 3 options. 1) mini port to HDMI, then HDMI cable to LG monitor. 2) Mini port to VGA, then VGA cable to monitor 3) HDMI port on mini mac to DVI-D cable then DVI to DVI cable... In all cases text is not clear. Anyone has similar issues with latest mini mac. The monitor works fine when I connect to a windows 7 Samsung laptop. Any input is highly appreciated. Thanks in Advance
Why do you use always 2 cables? There's a lot that can go wrong.
1.) Hardware:
- Use only one cable, best an HDMI->HDMI cable. It doesn't need to be an expensive one, they've proven to be no worse than those "esoteric", expensive ones.
- Set the monitor to the HDMI input.
- The modes you are listing are only "picture modes" changing color/brightness/contrast settings, not resolution or the likes, so pick the one you like best later, or enter your own settings under Custom.
2.) OS X:
- Usually the Mac detects the screen itself and chooses the best settings, so by default you need to do nothing than make a proper hardware connection to get a decent image.
- However, there have been issues with new Mac Minis and particularly their HDMI ports. But reportedly they have been fixed with a software update. So, launch the App Store and check under Updates if there is one for you to install. If so, do it; otherwise you should be good to go.
- If you require, go to System Preferences -> Displays. In the Dispaly tab, by default, "Best for display" should be selected, and that is typically true. If you want, select "Scaled" and 1920x1080, plus a frequency from the list (where higher is usually better, but just pick the one that works best for you). If you can't see a change to the better, you best go back to "Best for display".
- If you are not happy with the colors on your screen, you'll find eventually more than one choice in the Color tab, though your particular screen should be in the list and its Display Profile should get you the best result. (Double-check picture modes on your display: if you're far off there, you won't make it much better with the Mac's settings). -
Need Advice: New Intel Mac Mini Still In The Box
Hi!
Okay.. I know... I have several posts going here as I have several issues I am trying to solve rather simultaneously. Thanks for being patient with me.
I have my old 1.25 Ghz PowerPC Mac Mini running 10.4.11 and all was well and happy. Then Security Update 2007-009 happened and all went to ....well... you know and, yes, it was bad! Went to Apple, got it running of sorts as they re-installed the OS, but they used an old version of OS X. (10.4.7. Can you believe that?) This caused other problems. It continues to have all sorts of difficulties, as I have had to get applications to re-recognize that the computer is back up to 10.4.11. Currently, I am struggling with trying to get iTunes to access it's music folders on the external hard drives. Realized that I hadn't even gotten around to figuring out whether or not some of my other applications work, like some of the games and third party, etc.
The thing is I got a new Intel Mac Mini for Christmas and it's still in the box because as I suspected I need to get my old mac perfect again before I can even think about migrating stuff over to the new Mac. But.. here's the thing... it's starting to look pretty much like 2008 will come and go before I can get the old Mac ready enough to take the new Mac out of the box. This really is rather silly!
Now... I can't get the old Mac to see the music and it made me think. I have all of my iTunes music and iPhoto backed up on an external hard drive (I used Apple's "Back-up" software to do it) and in addition to this two complete copies of the iTunes music and iPhoto photos albums on two separate external hard drives. Should I just forget using migration assistant? Can I get my music and my photo albums into the new mac directly from the external hard drives?
Or...can I use "back up" to restore the music and photos into the new Mac?
I am starting to think that the best way to get my new Mac running is not risk it by attaching it to my old Mac. What do you think?
Thank you so much for any advice or experiences you can give. -CharlotteI know that I am vacillating back and forth as to what to do. Thanks so much for being patient with me. All of your advice is really appreciated and I am at least closing in on deciding on my strategy. Probably will follow your first response advice, especially considering that some of the third party apps may not have updates to handle Leopard quite yet. Anyway... it's a good strategy since everything is on the externals anyway.
You can say that fine.
Ha ha ha.... yes, I've been messing around with computers since my parents bought our first Apple computer back in 1979. Just like you, I've never had a serious problem with any of the computers and we've had them all, running all sorts of things from the Original Apple and Apple IIc (which my parents still have and it still runs!) to the Commodore and all the Windows permeations and then on to the Macs running Jaguar, Panther and Tiger, probably because we've always been careful with the machines and what we install in them and how we update them. I have always kept my computers on UPS' and un-plug them when storms brew outside. As it is I am still using my eight year old Windows 98 computer, (for games mostly) and it still runs quicker than most peoples windows pcs and it's only a 740 Megahertz.
I haven't had to re-install anything, especially on this lovely little Mac Mini until now and wouldn't have in this situation, had I known more. I had taken the little Mac Mini in for a Procare "Tune-Up," only four days before the big up-date disaster. Not sure what they did to my mac in the tune-up but the guy gave me back the machine assuring me that the computer was perfect with no problems in answer to my asking "were they sure?" Even after the Genius Bar techs at the Apple Store re-installed the OS to fix the big problems it seems that no one ever thought to run verify disk. Had the Genius Bar techs at the time of the tune-up done this, or at least told me to do this, the last security update would not have wrecked so much havoc. It was only after I got the machine back from Apple that second time that I found that the directory had been corrupted when I ran disk verify. Actually it is amazing that I have had this little Mac Mini for so long and so not have had any problems on it that I would be able to go so long without having to know this really pretty important aspect of keeping one's mac in good running shape. I had been running maintenance scripts and permissions verify and repair and thought that was all there was to it. Silly! You know... that really is a testimony of how nice these little machines are.
Anyway... experience is a good teacher and I have learned so much it's actually been great! This stuff is pretty interesting.
Now... on to Leopard!
Thanks so much and you have a great New Year! -Charlotte -
I am new to Mac and I have a Mini 2,1 Intel Core 2 Duo
It was working great then I was away for four months when I returned I don't know what happened a month later [a] I lost internet connection. When I checked in the Network Preferences it says "Ethernet" not connected, even though the cable is connected and works well when I use it on my PC
[b] the speed has dropped I now go for a cup of tea for it to load any program or file
[c] It invariably hangs up with the color wheel going on and on and on.
[d] do Mac's have any restore systems like PCs' or system recover?
I did not find help in the FAQ so I am reaching out to the Mac family for help. By the way I am in India and BSNL BB is my service provider.
Sincerely apprecaite any help I can get to learn to use and love a Mac!
ReginaI am new to Mac and I have a Mini 2,1 Intel Core 2 Duo
It was working great then I was away for four months when I returned I don't know what happened a month later [a] I lost internet connection. When I checked in the Network Preferences it says "Ethernet" not connected, even though the cable is connected and works well when I use it on my PC
[b] the speed has dropped I now go for a cup of tea for it to load any program or file
[c] It invariably hangs up with the color wheel going on and on and on.
[d] do Mac's have any restore systems like PCs' or system recover?
I did not find help in the FAQ so I am reaching out to the Mac family for help. By the way I am in India and BSNL BB is my service provider.
Sincerely apprecaite any help I can get to learn to use and love a Mac!
Regina -
New Macbook Pro with Mac OSX 10.5.5 - I'm new to Mac and am having problem
My photobooth sometimes only records videos for six seconds though it tells me it is recording for as long as I have it recording. When I click stop, what's saved is six seconds. I've had this Macbook Pro for about a month now, and I'm new to Mac, as I've been with Windows all my life. Now, photobooth is also crashing, saying I can send a message to Apple or relaunch. I usually do both. My IMOVIE HD just crashed as well, and I am now noticing that these applications are crashing more often. What can I do? I checked disk utility, verified my disk, and nothing was wrong. I have 211 GB of free space. I don't know what to do and I need this to be fixed. What's wrong with my Macbook Pro?? I was told Macs have so much stability, but if this is what's happening after just a month, I don't know what to say. I also tried to download many screensavers from the Apple website, which ended up not working, and calling Apple did not help. I ended up removing all of the screen savers, so that was a whole unresolved issue. But now my main concern is with all of these crashes. I have run the software updates thing and I am up to date.
What do I do??
Thank you.Call Apple Care. They will either help you over the phone, or they will help you send it in for repair (it takes only a few days to do that - you usually have it back literally two or three days after you send it in)...What you are describing is something malfunctioning and that is NOT usual for a mac.
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I am new to Mac and am having trouble up loafing images from my pictures folder to photography sites and Facebook. Some of the saved images are accessible, while others are not, ( they are light colored and cannot be uploaded) I am not saving them any differently.
Hi Robodisko,
Thanks for your prompt reply......
I often proof my work in preview then edit images in photoshop and rename from there. The dsc images are renamed to correlate the name of the class etc. i.e. dcs_001 is saved as the file name required 7A.jpeg etc.
The file names are required to correlate what is what and so on.......... -
I;m new to macs, and I'm having a few problems....
The first problem I started having was with my Stickies. I was using them one day, and playing around with them. I must have clicked something because now they don't show up on my desktop. They open up and I am able to type something but I still see no stickie. At first I wasn't sure if they were opening but when i go to the dock it said several were open and when I closed some it asked me if i wanted to save them. It's been like this for a few weeks. I have no idea what to do.
My second problem, which isn't a big deal, is that the macintosh HD icon on my desktop moves when I turn on my macbook. When i first got it it stayed exactly where it was when I first bought it. Now it moves below a folder i have under it. It was doing that before i created the folder. And when I download things, when they appear on my desktop it always leaves a space between documents. It wasn't going that at first.
Yet another problem I am having is that something magically deleted its self. I emptied my trash one night before turning it off. When i turned it on the next day I noticed there was something in the trash even though I had not deleted anything. I opened it up and there was a folder called Recovered files in it. Contained in it was SoftwareUpdateCheck.pid. I have no idea what this is or means.
I bought a macbook because everyone was telling me they don't get viruses, and if they did it would minimal. I'm freaking out thinking I have a virus. I have no idea what is going on. The people I know with macs don't even know what is wrong with mine, they haven't encountered the same problems. can someone please help me?hey there xxchester, welcome to Discussions.
i've had several Macs for several years & not encountered your issues, but have you called Apple Care? you get 90 days of free phone support. being new to Macs i suggest you take full advantage of it. i'm not blowing you off, we're all users here like you & maybe no one has encountered your issues.
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