[keldave17]

I've been reading alot of stuff the last couple days. Firstly to decide if I wanted to make the leap and then to find out what my first actions should be once i get my mac. Just a couple questions I couldnt find answers to.
I bought an older model from ebay (moneys tight). Its a powermac G4, 700MHz, 512mb,only 40g hardrive with Mac OS 10.3 Panther. 15inch screen.
I paid 500 bucks including all shipping and exchange (canadian here).
Did I get a good deal? I dont do any major computing, just email and internet mostly and alot of burning music cd's and mp3's. Will I have problems with that or will I just need a different burning app instead of iTunes? (I have no iTunes, but well over 1000 mp3's and some wma's).
Is it possible to add more memory if I needed to?
Any other advice as to what problems I may have switching from Outlook Express to hmm I dont even know what the mail app is called in Mac.
I'll have you know I spent a couple hours reading forums here before I actually hit the bid button. Thanks for helping me decide to make the plunge.

[gooser]

you did not get a good deal but you didn't get a bad deal either.yes you can upgrade the memory. itunes will work fine. good luck with the wma's, may have a problem. don't be surprised if your computer is loud.

[keldave17]

Damn. I thought macs were quiet. Will it have to be an external hard drive?

[Ronnie Coleman]

Newer Macs are quiet, old not so much.

[shifuimam]

Howdy!

Looking at the completed listings on eBay for PowerMac G4s, I'd say you probably could have gotten a better deal. Don't beat yourself up over it, though - you can't change your mind now, so use what you have and upgrade it as needed.

You can use iTunes to burn audio CDs. YuBurner is a great freeware app that I use to burn MP3 CDs and data CDs. I personally prefer it to the built-in CD burning capability of OS X.

The emailing application is called Mail. Open up the Finder, go to your Applications folder (it should be in that lefthand sidebar), and it should be right there.

If you own a copy of Microsoft Office Mac, Entourage is the Mac Office version of Outlook.

You could also use Thunderbird, which is Mozilla's email application.

You should be able to add a bigger or second hard drive with little problem. Adding RAM (memory) shouldn't be an issue, either. Your model looks like it takes standard PC100 or PC133 SDRAM, which you can find online just about anywhere. You DON'T need Apple-certified RAM or anything like that. Check out Crucial.com to make sure you have the right kind of RAM, and you should be okay.

There are a lot of freeware websites out there that specialize in Mac freeware. I've found applications to do just about everything - media players, image editors, file managers, web browsers, utilities, etc.

Hope that helps!

[keldave17]

Thanks alot for all the info. Is the thunderbird better than mail? One of the things I heard was that safari reads web pages so fast it will seem like I have upgraded my internet speed. I have basic dsl but my pc reads pages so slow. This was one of the major reasons I jumped. i played for hours with settings and cleaning trying to make it better. Tell me my old mac has safari and it is as good as Ive heard.

[Sbtrfuge]

Why is this in the iMac forum?

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

Originally Posted by Sbtrfuge 

Why is this in the iMac forum?

+1, good point. Good luck with your new mac though!!

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by keldave17 

Thanks alot for all the info. Is the thunderbird better than mail? One of the things I heard was that safari reads web pages so fast it will seem like I have upgraded my internet speed. I have basic dsl but my pc reads pages so slow. This was one of the major reasons I jumped. i played for hours with settings and cleaning trying to make it better. Tell me my old mac has safari and it is as good as Ive heard.

I don't know that Thunderbird is better or worse. Since I graduated from college I haven't needed a local mail client on my computer (my job provides me a laptop with Lotus Notes for email, so I don't need anything else anymore). So...I haven't really had a chance to test-drive either application on OS X. Thunderbird is probably a bit more advanced and feature-filled than the Mail application. You can try both and see which suits you better.

If your PowerMac is running OS X 10.3 or newer, you have Safari. If you're running OS 9, you're out of luck - sorry! And, if you are running OS 9, it might be worth your while to consider upgrading to OS X 10.3. As this is your first Mac, I think you'll find OS X much more user-friendly than OS 9 for someone used to Windows. There's still a learning curve, but you'll probably enjoy it more.

My only Mac that I use regularly is a 466MHz G3 clamshell iBook. I never use Safari because it actually slows down everything. I use Firefox with the Adblock Plus extension. By pre-emptive blocking of all the ads online, pages generally load up faster (no heavy flash files or animated GIF images to load). Camino is a Mac-optimized version of Firefox, but the lack of good ad-blocking features has kept me from using it regularly.

One thing that I can recommend if you're going to use MS Office - use X, not 2004. 2004 is much more resource-intensive, and I saw a noticeable performance boost when I downgraded to Office X on my iBook.

Hope that helps!

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Coleman 

Newer Macs are quiet, old not so much.

Your sig is too big. And yes most older Macs are loud.

[keldave17]

Sorry about the thread being in the wrong spot. My first search was for switching from pc and the thread that came up was in this forum. I hate to sound really dumb but, what Ive bought is not considered an imac?

Thanks alot for the info on mail and browsers. Firefox Ive tried and liked. It was one attempt at speeding up my browsing experience, but never did make a difference.

The noise cant possibly be worse than this annoying constant whining of my pc now can it??

[keldave17]

Also, I did actually pay 395.00 for the mac. Its just the exchange and shipping that killed me. But I knew that going in.

[shifuimam]

A quick rundown of the PowerPC-based Apple computers from the last few years:

iMac is Apple's consumer line. These started with the Bondi Blue and candy-colored all-in-one machines, where the computer and the CRT monitor were integrated into one shell. They've since evolved into the current iteration, which is a big flat white box with a built-in LCD display, behind which resides the logic board, hard drive, optical drive, etc.

This particular forum category also covers eMacs and Mac Minis. eMacs are no longer produced (AFAIK). They were originally made exclusively for the education sector and included lower-end hardware with an iMac-style casing that integrated a flat CRT display with the computer components. The Mac Mini has been switched to Intel processors and is a bare-bones solution that ships with nothing but the computer (no keyboard, mouse, monitor, or other peripherals). It is in a very small form factor and therefore can be relatively difficult to upgrade.

PowerMac is Apple's professional line. These are the more familiar tower-style desktop computers with external monitors. The PowerMacs are also much more expandable than the iMacs, including additional spaces for optical drives, hard drives, zip drives, etc, as well as extra slots for upgrade cards for things like USB 2.0, more firewire ports, and higher-end graphics cards. The PowerMac was replaced with the Mac Pro when Apple made the full switch to Intel processors.

Similarly, the iBook is Apple's consumer laptop line, while the PowerBook is the professional line. These have been replaced by the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines.

As far as the computer noise goes, that can sometimes be a result of crappy cooling fans or crappy power supplies. Newer computers have newer cooling technology and mechanisms, so they do tend to be quieter. I don't think it's going to sound like you have a vortex in your computer room or anything with that PowerMac...

I would suggest giving FireFox another go. I currently have four different browsers on my iBook, and I switch between them as I like. Hope that helps!!

[Sbtrfuge]

Originally Posted by keldave17 

Sorry about the thread being in the wrong spot. My first search was for switching from pc and the thread that came up was in this forum. I hate to sound really dumb but, what Ive bought is not considered an imac?

Jesus christ.

Ford makes a lot of cars. Not all of them are ford focuses. The ford GT40 is not considered a focus.

[keldave17]

Okay, so I am dumb. What exactly do I have then? Where should I be posting?

None of your descriptions mention a computer that looks like a lamp with a screen..lol
Thanks for all the info shifuimam.

Dont wanna get sbtrfuge on my bad side.

[shifuimam]

Ahhh the lamp with the screen.

I'm assuming you mean this:

http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/fpimac.html

If that's what you have, that's the iMac G4. The monitor is integrated in with the rest of the computer (not connected by a cable)...the mark of an iMac. Upgrading one of these can be a little more time-consuming (adding RAM, hard drive, etc), but it's doable and there are plenty of people here who can help you.

sbtrfuge, there's no reason to be rude about it. Treating new mac users badly because they don't know everything right off the bat certainly isn't going to help encourage others to switch. I would imagine that the auction for that iMac called it a PowerMac in the auction title to garner more search results.

[keldave17]

Yep. That would be what Ive got coming. To be fair, they didnt call it a powermac, they said it was an imac with the processor type listed as powerpc G4.
Anyway, its starting to look like I may have made a mistake. Not really getting too much for the money. But like I said, I dont do much more than email, surf and play games, take pics and burn cd's. Hopefully it can do all this efficiently.
So its difficult to open up to add ram? It doesnt look big enough to add another hard drive.

[shifuimam]

If you wanted a second hard drive, you'd have to get an external one. In all honesty, I have a desktop PC that can hold three drives, but I ended up putting all my data on an external drive so that I could get to it from any computer. Just a thought.

I'm surprised you're not too happy with your purchase. The iMac G4 model was always my favorite Mac desktop. It has an extremely small footprint (on your desk), and the LCD arm is just plain cool. You can probably get a decent amount of $$ if you decide to sell it, though. Do you know if yours was the base or the mid-grade model? If it was the mid-grade, then it also has a CD-RW/DVD combo drive. That should be plenty for your needs.

It looks like upgrading the memory in one of these is pretty easy:

http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/...imac/g4sodimm/

Give your iMac a chance. If you decide that either you aren't comfortable with OS X or you just don't like the styling, then by all means sell it and try something else. You can get a G4 Mac Mini on eBay for less than about $600. Then, you can add your own monitor, mouse, and keyboard. You'd also need an external hard drive for one of those. For a little more, you can get an Intel Mac Mini and dual-boot with Windows XP.

[Sbtrfuge]

Sorry for being rude, I was just dumbfounded that someone wouldn't know the difference, given how often apple advertises.

[gooser]

Originally Posted by keldave17 

Yep. That would be what Ive got coming. To be fair, they didnt call it a powermac, they said it was an imac with the processor type listed as powerpc G4.
Anyway, its starting to look like I may have made a mistake. Not really getting too much for the money. But like I said, I dont do much more than email, surf and play games, take pics and burn cd's. Hopefully it can do all this efficiently.
So its difficult to open up to add ram? It doesnt look big enough to add another hard drive.

if indeed you have an imac coming and not a powermac well just forget what i said about the noise. these imac g4's can be quite quiet. and yes you can still add more memory to them. a little sluggish by today's standards but still useful and fun. i know, i have one. enjoy


edit: if you plan on using an ipod eith it try to pick up an older one that you can transfer data via firewire.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

keldave17, can you get us some pics? Then we can settle this once and for all.

[keldave17]

I dont have it yet actually. UPS says its on its way.

eBay.ca: iMac G4 PowerPC G4 700MHz 512MB 40GB CD-RW (item 300049677910 end time 22-Nov-06 11:04:43 EST)

[keldave17]

Im pretty sure its the base model..700mhz not 800 and cd rw and not dvd. I'm glad to hear some good things about it. Considering the PC I have now Ive had since Jan 2000.(wanted to make sure all the lights didnt go out that night..lol) Processor is 450mhz. I added a second hard drive myself tho and a stick of ram as well.

I'm pretty sure it will be better. I like learning new things. It will be nice to just get rid of this big ugly whiny box and huge CRT monitor.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

Originally Posted by keldave17 

I dont have it yet actually. UPS says its on its way.

eBay.ca: iMac G4 PowerPC G4 700MHz 512MB 40GB CD-RW (item 300049677910 end time 22-Nov-06 11:04:43 EST)

That is a iMac G4. not a power mac

[keldave17]

I was wondering what should be my first steps after I get it, plug it in and fire it up. It is used so I hsould see if the previous owner has left programs installed and decide if I should leave them or start fresh. I havent been able to find a definitive answer about the os. I'm thinking that its not like windows where you have to make sure you have a legitimate copy and a key. Do you get reinstall discs or something like that to reformat, or is the os kind of imbedded right in the mac? Is there anything else I should check for before I hook her up to the net? Firewall Ive seen in some articles. Make sure its active. Firefox with the add block might be next.
On my pc I have avg free. Virus protection as well as email scanner. Ive read that macs are much less susceptible to attacks but should I have extra protection? Im pretty sure all the "protection" I had on my pc is what slowed everything to a crawl.
Ive also read I should set up a second user that is not the administrator so I dont screw anything up. Well I assume thats why. Good idea?
I wish you had a section just for new users. I'm trying to figure out as much myself as I can but there is so much crap to wade through (not this site tho...lol) to find basic answers. Like the os question. How do you phrase that in a search exactly?..lol
Thanks everyone for taking the time.
One more thing. I went to the link to show how to install ram. Looks pretty easy. Should that be near the top of my list? Will it make a big difference especially if I like safari?

[gooser]

you will only get reinstall discs if the seller sends them. don't hold your breath. if you decide to buy discs be sure to get the cd version---not the dvd version. ifixit.com sells restore discs. 10.3 has a firewall built in. i highly recommend you get your machine and use a for a few days before you even consider buying anything else. on a side note you mentioned gaming. no macs are great gaming machines. you bought one of the few macs that are dual boot. (9 & x) there are a lot of older games available for os9 that are available real cheap on ebay if you are interested. 10.3 should be the overall best os for your machine and i know i'll probably be flamed for saying this but you may get away without having to add more memory. just enjoy your new toy. no need for extra protection. firefox is fine.

[JKT]

Originally Posted by keldave17 

I was wondering what should be my first steps after I get it, plug it in and fire it up. It is used so I hsould see if the previous owner has left programs installed and decide if I should leave them or start fresh.

Always worth a look to see what has been left installed, but unless they send you the registration information along with any CD media for the software, your copies won't be legal.

However, if the seller has any sense, they will have wiped and zero'ed the HD, then re-installed the OS afresh prior to selling it.

I havent been able to find a definitive answer about the os. I'm thinking that its not like windows where you have to make sure you have a legitimate copy and a key. Do you get reinstall discs or something like that to reformat, or is the os kind of imbedded right in the mac?

No CD key required. You should get Software Restore CDs with the machine (if you don't get them, then bug the prior owner for them). These will allow you to wipe the hard drive and re-install both the OS and the bundled software that came with the iMac when it was first bought (if the prior owner hasn't already done it).

Is there anything else I should check for before I hook her up to the net? Firewall Ive seen in some articles. Make sure its active. Firefox with the add block might be next.
On my pc I have avg free. Virus protection as well as email scanner. Ive read that macs are much less susceptible to attacks but should I have extra protection? Im pretty sure all the "protection" I had on my pc is what slowed everything to a crawl.

OS X has a built-in software Firewall and it is trivial to switch on and use. Hopefully the iMac comes with OS X 10.3 or later installed. If it doesn't, I would seriously consider getting a copy of at least 10.3. Most software these days is not compatible with anything earlier than 10.3. (N.B. Just took a look at the ebay page and they advertise it as shipping with 10.3 so that's good news). FWIW, I wouldn't upgrade it to 10.4 at the moment as 10.5 should be released in the first half of next year, so either get 10.4 at a reduced price once it ships or get 10.5 if the iMac is still compatible with it.

For anti-virus software, just use the Open Source http://www.clamxav.com/. There are no known viruses in the wild for OS X and it isn't as trivial to get infected by them as it is in Windows, but that doesn't mean it is impossible or unlikely to happen in the future

I've also read I should set up a second user that is not the administrator so I dont screw anything up. Well I assume thats why. Good idea?

Absolutely. By default the first user on the machine is an Administrator. By creating and using a second "Standard" account, you add another level of security to the system. Trying to install anything outside of your own user space will require you to input an admin's password and this is just good common sense.

I wish you had a section just for new users. I'm trying to figure out as much myself as I can but there is so much crap to wade through (not this site tho...lol) to find basic answers. Like the os question. How do you phrase that in a search exactly?..lol
Thanks everyone for taking the time.
One more thing. I went to the link to show how to install ram. Looks pretty easy. Should that be near the top of my list? Will it make a big difference especially if I like safari?

There's an awful lot of stuff that can be learnt so its difficult to have a "basics" for new users. However, the Help system and the Apple website have sections for Switchers. Also take a look at my post in this thread.

FWIW, more RAM will help with everything. The more you have the better, but see how you get on first before upgrading.

[keldave17]

Thanks alot for all the clear and concise info. I've actually been through that thread before, but there are alot of good links I havent tried yet. Thanks again. Now I just wish the damn thing would get here!! UPS site says they have the billing info but so far no package. Seller wont answer my emails. Yet. Not worrying.....yet...lol