New Mac user, new to Wireless - looking for recommendations on a router

Hello all! I am new to Macs, and to wireless in general. I just bought a used Powerbook which of course has wireless capability. So my next step will be to set up a router. However, I have no experience with this, and am definitely not a computer geek at heart. So I am looking for recommendations on a router/wireless network system that seems to work well with Macs (and PC's as I now have both) and doesn't require vast amounts of computer networking knowledge to set up and get working. What works well? What should be avoided? Many thanks for your input! (Oh, if it makes any difference, my internet connection is DSL.)

I would strongly recommend the AirPort Extreme. Its simple, doesn't do much but it does the job perfectly. It never drops out and the distance of the signal is far (you can be online in your back and front yard). And its really easy to setup. And it works with both systems. But I do recommend getting a new one instead of a used one because you'll need the newer version of AirPort Assistant to set it up because older version of Tiger doesn't have that programme pre-installed.

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Snow Leopard or Lion for new Mac User?

Hi everyone: I purchased my first Mac (a MacBook Pro) about a month back and shortly thereafter upgraded to Lion for free through the apps store. Since then, using/navigating the new Mac has been somewhat challenging for me and I'm not yet comfortable with using it for all of my computing needs. (I have an old Toshiba that is still my go-to computer--for the moment.) I suspect that part of my challenges stem from being a new Mac user (irrespective of the particular OS) after years of using PCs, but I do wonder if they may also relate to OS Lion, which seems to have complicated the user experience. I was hoping that using a Mac would be more intuitive and simple than it seems to have been thus far.
With that in mind, might there be some utility in me reinstalling Snow Leopard (and if so how?) in order to become more used to the new Mac experience before permanently switching to Lion? If I do, would I be able to, down the road, resintall Lion for free?
I recognize that this suggestion would involve some learning curve redundancy (learning the Mac on Snow Leopard and eventually re-learning it with Lion). However, I have a sense that reverting back to Snow Leopard might ease my transition into the new Mac experience. Either way, I'm looking forward to eventually tossing out that Toshiba!
Thanks for any/all thoughts. Best, DC

If you want to downgrade to Snow Leopard then do the following:
Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.
However, there isn't that much difference between Snow Leopard and Lion that using Snow Leopard would prove easier to learn. There are lots of tutorials available at the Apple website to help you learn how to use a Mac. You might start with Apple - Support - Mac 101 and Apple - Support - Switch 101. And, for Lion see About MacOS X.

Printing help for new MAC user

I am a new MAC user trying convince myself this is better than a PC. I have been trying to 3 hours to figure out how to print in color with a document I've created in Pages. I am connected to a HP Photosmart wireless printer. Can someone help me?

jersey45 wrote:
I am a new MAC user trying convince myself this is better than a PC. I have been trying to 3 hours to figure out how to print in color with a document I've created in Pages. I am connected to a HP Photosmart wireless printer. Can someone help me?
Hi jersey,
Welcome to Apple Discussions and the Pages '09 forum.
Is this strictly a Pages/HP Photosmart issue, or do other applications share this inability to print in colour to this printer?
About the only advice I can offer is to:
1.
Check the HP site for any updated drivers for your printer. Download and install if any are found.
2.
Check the printer's settings in the Print dialogue. Your printer may offer the choice, here or in it's utility application, to print using only the black toner cartridge.
3.
Try opening Pages from a different user account, and printing a new document from there. Success would indicate the issue lies in your user account, probably in a corrupted Pages preference (.plist) file.Go back to your usual account, locate the file and drag it to the trash. Try printing again from your usual account.
If these don't help, I'd suggest reposting your question in the Printing, Faxing and Scanning forum in the Mac OS X v10.6 (Snow Leopard) section of Discussions.
Regards,
Barry

Stacks and other simple issues..... for new Mac user

My first computer was a commodore 64 with DOS commands and I've been a PC user ever since. You guessed it, Friday I went to the Apple store and bought an iMac! I was up and using it in minutes so I am impressed. However there are a million little things I just can't figure out or that take hours, for example at the Apple store the docking bar when you ran your mouse over the icons they jumped up. Well after a few hours I figured out how to make mine do that! (so cool).
At the store they showed me "stacks" where i put my mouse on something and I could see, pix or documents or e-mail I had somehow saved there, very handy but if my Mac can do that I sure don't see how.
Here are my two questions:
1) how do i make stacks work (is it some program i don't have?)
2) is there a web site or book or something with all the easy stuff (tips and tricks) in it a brand new Mac user should know? (i hate to keep bothering you all with simple questions)
Thanks, Susa

Welcome to Mac.
1) Just drag any folder to the right hand side of the dotted line (the Trash side) of Dock. Then click. Or click and hold on the stack and choose how your stack displays.
2) take a look at Mac 101 and Switch 101. There's a wealth of info there.
Books? "The Missing Manual Leopard Edition" (coming soon) by David Pogue.
-mj
[email protected]

I am a new mac user and I switch to mac due to the graphics that it brings. I do website in pc and I heard iweb is the best.NOW i heard that iweb will be discontinue. so what is the best application there for website using MAC OSX lion?

I am a new mac user and I switch to mac due to the graphics that it brings. I do website in pc and I heard iweb is the best.NOW i heard that iweb will be discontinue. so what is the best application there for website using MAC OSX lion?

It is now confirmed that iWeb, and iDVD, has been discontinued by Apple. This is evidenced by the fact that new Macs are shipping with iLife 11 installed but without iWeb and iDVD.
On June 30, 2012 MobileMe will be shutdown. However, iWeb will still continue to work but without the following:
Features No Longer Available Once MobileMe is Discontinued:
◼ Password protection
◼ Blog and photo comments
◼ Blog search
◼ Hit counter
◼ MobileMe Gallery
All of these features can be replaced with 3rd party options.
I found that if I published my site to a folder on my hard drive and then uploaded with a 3rd party FTP client subscriptions to slideshows and the RSS feed were broken. If I published directly from iWeb to the FPT server those two features continued to work correctly.
There's another problem and that's with iWeb's popup slideshows. Once the MMe servers are no longer online the popup slideshow buttons will not display their images.
Click to view full size
However, Roddy McKay and I have figured out a way to modify existing sites with those slideshows and iWeb itself so that those images will display as expected once MobileMe servers are gone. How to is described in this tutorial: #26 - How to Modify iWeb So Popup Slideshows Will Work After MobileMe is Discontinued.
It now appears that the iLife suite of applications offered on disc is now a discontinued product and the remaining supported iApps will only be available thru the App Store from now on. However, the iLife 11 boxed version that is still available at the online Apple Store (Store button at the top of the page) and those still on the shelves of retailers will include iWeb and iDVD. Those two apps were listed in small, gray text on the iLife 11 box that I bought.
Personally, if I didn't already have a copy I would purchase one to have it for reinstallation purposes if ever needed.
This might be of some interest to you at this time: Life After MobileMe.
OT

I am a new mac user and have a 15 macbook pro (non retina display). I am having an issue with safari "freezing" ...it will work fine for a while and then I will open a new tab and attempt a website that won't load and after that it seems no website will.

So yes like mentioned above...i am a new mac user...have only had it about four days and have had a windows based system always before this. The issue I am having is that I will be in safari and it will work perfect for a while and then i will open a new tab and attempt another website and it will either be extremely slow or will give the error that it cannot connect to the server, however, when i run diagnostics my internet is fine. The only solution i have found is to reboot and geeksquad has been unable to replicate the problem while connected to my computer to try to do so. Does anyone have any suggestions or anyone else with this problem? If you have a "fix" please try layman's terms because again I have no idea about macs haha. Thanks,

So yes like mentioned above...i am a new mac user...have only had it about four days and have had a windows based system always before this. The issue I am having is that I will be in safari and it will work perfect for a while and then i will open a new tab and attempt another website and it will either be extremely slow or will give the error that it cannot connect to the server, however, when i run diagnostics my internet is fine. The only solution i have found is to reboot and geeksquad has been unable to replicate the problem while connected to my computer to try to do so. Does anyone have any suggestions or anyone else with this problem? If you have a "fix" please try layman's terms because again I have no idea about macs haha. Thanks,

I migrated info from a hard drive to a new mac under time machine. It says I have shared files, but I don't see the old info on the new machine. Where do I look for it ? How do I make the old backup the base for my new macbook ?

I migrated info from a hard drive to a new mac under time machine. It says I have shared files, but I don't see the old info on the new machine. Where do I look for it ? How do I make the old backup the basis for my new macbook ?
The old OS was Mac X 10.5.8. I think the new one is 10.7.2 Lion.

Have a read here How do I set up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC?
Stefan

I'm a brand new Mac user. I want to send photos from Iphoto to my local store for printing, like I can do in Picasa. I can't find that option in Iphoto.

I'm a brand new Mac user. I want to send photos from Iphoto to my local store for printing, like I can do in Picasa. I can't find that option in Iphoto. I do not want to order them through Itunes.

I have not idea how you do it with Picasa but with iPhoto you either export the photos to a desktop folder and upload from there or burns that folder to CD - or from the upload window use the media browser in the lower left hand corner of the upload windows - media ==> photos ==> iPhoto
For pictures see - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3547767?tstart=0
LN

G4 won't boot up for new Mac user

Hi guys. Brand new to Apple computers as I got a "defective" G4 from my neighbor. He was going to throw it away but I told him I would try to fix it first.
When I power it up, it makes a musical "greeting" power up sound and the monitor goes from dark black (as in "off") to a lighter gray, and then a folder appears in the middle of the screen alternating between a face and a question mark.
Does anyone know what is wrong with this computer so that I can repair it for future use? I am guessing a hard drive malfunction, but do not know for sure. And is it worth fixing? FYI - I do not have any software for this system.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
-Mark

A 160g hard drive would run you about $70, while OS X would run about $120.
It would be great to borrow a copy of the os installation disk and boot from it to see if the computer has further problems. Do you know any other mac users? It would also allow you to see how much ram is in the machine (OS X likes ram) and that may be a further expense if you need more.
What are you going to use the machine for? That's the main question as to how much you should spend to fix the machine up. I don't know if it would be fast enough for you as an everyday computer, but internet use, word processing, ITunes, IPhoto would all work just fine. You won't be doing any gaming or heavy duty video processing.
I'd talk to them at the Apple Store, explain the situation, maybe they might be able to help given the situation. They've got a chance here to nab a new mac user, I'd think that may help your case.

HTML in EBAY for NEW MAC USER! Please Help!

Hi, I am a brand new MAC user. Just bought a MACBOOK last week. Here is my HTML prob. I sell on ebay. I called apple support and they were not able to help me. When I list my item on eBay, HTML comes up in the description area. On my older PC it was regular readable english and NOT html gobble de gook. Anyone know how to switch over from the HTML junk so I can see the regular english and write about my product? thanks so much. Sorry, I am not a computer guru. I only know how to read email and sell on ebay

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Sounds like they are using non-standard HTML. Try using a different web browser*:
http://www.macmaps.com/browser.html
Also verify it isn't your e-mail program that is open when you are viewing the file. Anything via e-mail which can't be converted by an e-mail program will display as just plain HTML. Look to the right of the Apple logo on your top left corner to see which program is active.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

New MAC user... regreting my choice

Well I just bought a new Macbook Black (core 2 duo, 1Gig RAM, 120HD) for my girl as a gift (a friend of mine was on USA, I'm from Mexico).
Everything was fine, first I read the manual, then I somehow I easily conect to internet wireless, star DL the upgrades, and suddenly at the end of the DL I lost conection... ok, not big deal I took that oportunity to restart, since some of the upgrades I DL request it.
After that, it has been ****, finally I end up quiting trying to conect wireless and go to ethernet... I'm on, no wait I'm not, yes... mmm NOPE, I lost conection to the world for good.
Everything in my house is conected to internet the only gripe is this black trash (no offense intended), so end up thinking, what was the problem...?? THE UPGRADES!!! it has to be, so I formated my machine, thinking everything will go back as a couple of days I just open it, but I was so wrong.
The Instalation DVD didnt do anything, there was still a user account after the format, it didnt wash all and star as good as new (user profile and all that the sistem ask you when is the very first time you use it).
Please help, I end up with a very expensive useless gift for my girl in my house, why do apple sell problems?, I should had stick with PC.

Hi Balhazer, and welcome to Apple Discussion!
I agree with Troy Enn, you seem to be a new Mac user, and although the Mac is relatively easy to use, there are many steps, or procedures, just like choosing the right and most suitable method to re-install/reformat your mac... if you are not sure, go online to browse around, or ask here, we will be please to help.
You need to choose a total reformat and reinsall OS of your mac to wipe everything, including current user away, to start afresh.
And please don't blame the updates, I have 4 macs running... 1 in the office and 3 at home of different flavours, have been updating them all 10.4.x throughout, and have never encounter any serious update problems (touch wood). If you follow the "protocols" or "procedures" correctly, like Repairing Disk Permission before and after you update, etc. Then you shouldn't have any problem keeping your mac in the pink of health.
Cheers

New mac user have a few questions

Hi everyone i made the switch to mac today and i have a few questions
1. How easy is it for me to update the Nvidia graphics drivers when Nvidia releases them ?
2. Should i bother with Antivirus software ?
3. what are some good sites for wallpapers and stuff - (wants to make his make look good)
4. Any tips for a new mac user please feel free
thank you for your time and help
mike

Hi mike and welcome to Discussions and the world of Apple,
4) have a read/look at the following for a better feeling for your Mac
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/
Was a 'switcher' myself 4 years back and learned alot from them.
Regards
Stefan

New mac user needs imac g3 help

hi iam a new mac user.i just picked up a used snow imac g3 600mhz from a garage sale,and i was trying to figure out a couple things with it.when i turn it on it boots too mac osx 10.3.5,but the screen color is all grey,but readable.i tried too change the colors too default but it still stays grey.i know though when it boots and shuts down it will change color.from what i read it could need a firmware upgrade to fix this?or is this common with the imac series?
the only thing i could find out about it is that it needs mac 9.1 installed too do the firmware upgrade.another question is can i dual boot 9.1 and osx and be able to switch bewteen the 2? also how do i check my current firmware version on mac osx?any help would be great thanks

Hi Caddy and welcome to Apple Discussions,
how do i check my current firmware version on mac osx?any help would be great thanks
There are a couple ways to do it.
The easiest is boot the computer up and click and hold on the Apple slide down and release on "about this Mac". Click on the "more info" button. A window will open up and "hardware" will be selected. If not select it. Look down that window for "Boot ROM version".
It should say "4.1.9 f1.
If not go here:
http://www.capecodgraphics.com/imac_firmware.htm
The definitive site on this problem.
and there it says one of the symptoms:
"S2 -- iMac starts up normally but with dim or strangely coloured display."
So that sounds like your problem.
another question is can i dual boot 9.1 and osx and be able to switch bewteen the 2?
Yes that will be no problem at all. !0.3.2 actually supports booting into Classic.
BTW congratulations that 600 Snow is like the Jaguar of iMac CRTs.
Richard
Message was edited by: spudnuty
Message was edited by: spudnuty

I'm a new Mac user. I imported photos from my PC they ended up in iphoto library on the hard drive, but when I open iphoto from my dock its empty. How do I import those photos to the dock file?

I'm a new Mac user. I imported photos from my PC through a jump drive and they ended up in my iphoto library on the hard drive but when I open iphoto from the dock its empty. How do I import those photos to the dock file from the iphoto library?

Paragon Software has the most reliable NTFS driver for Mac
tips on importing and organizing, transferring from Windows etc
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes
http://www.ilounge.com

New Mac user: Is it possible to move more than one file at a time on a Mac?

I'm a new Mac user. Something so simple in Windows doesn't seem possible in Mac OS and AppleCare doesn't have a clue either. I have edited video files as well as the master footage video file in individual folders created by FCP. I need to transfer 6 video files, 20GB each, onto an external hard drive. This will need to run overnight because I'm using an external HD with only USB and it will take 10 hours or so. How do I transfer these 6 files all at once?
Note: The 6 files are in 6 different folders. I can't transfer the entire 6 folders because they contain other video files in them that I don't need to transfer and are larger than my 20 GB edited files. And last, I shouldn't have to drag these files individually to a folder on the desktop first, because that will take an hour and is a waste of time because I would have to sit there and wait for each to finish.

As a new Mac user, you might find the following sites helpful:
Mac 101
and since you're coming from using Windows:
Switch 101
and an independent site many people find helpful:
My First Mac
Regards.

New Mac user, new to Wireless - looking for recommendations on a router

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