Just ordered the iBook, some newbie questions ...

C

cmeisenzahl

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I've been out of the Mac loop since Systems 6 & 7, so I have some catching up to do. :dive:

If anyone can help me with these questions and/or point me to FAQs and more info I would really appreciate the assistance.

1.
When my 12" iBook arrives from Apple next week, what version of OS X can I expect to see on it?


2.
Does the Mac OS have an automatic update tool over the web like Windows Update does?


3.
Is it true that I can print directly to PDFs without any 3rd party software?


4.
What are some of the absolutely most useful pieces of freeware, utilities, etc. that are "must-haves"?



5.
Are all the usual UNIX utilities really included w/ OS X?


6.
I ordered mine w/ the 80GB HD and 256MB RAM, if I plan to add another 512MB in a few weeks, is that likely sufficient? No photoshop work or games. Just some light image editing and plenty of office type apps.


7.
Do you guys use OpenOffice? Is there something better?


8.
Safari or Firefox?


9.
What am I not even thinking to ask about? :)


Pointers to more info much appreciated.


Thanks in advance and have a great day!

Chris

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Your Mac's Specs
20" iMac C2D 2.16ghz, 13" MacBook 2.0ghz, 60gb iPod vid, 1gb nano
1. Should be 10.3.8 but might be .7....no big deal easy to upgrade
2. Yes. Click the Apple at the Top left and you will see Software Update. You can also set this to check every day automatically in system preferences
3. Yes when you go to File -> Print there is an option built in to Save as PDF
4. MacJanitor is very useful for basic system maintenence
5. Yes they are
6. 768 is perfectly sufficient for your needs. 256 may seem a bit sluggish but 768 will be great
7. I have not used OpenOffice (Office 2004 is cheap through my school so I just use that)
8. Either is fine I use FireFox
9. Can't think of anything else
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Apple iMAC Core Duo (20"/1gb/250/SD/BT/AP)
Microsoft Office 2004 is a great software!!!
 
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proudlywelsh83

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if your only doing basic word processing or spreadsheets use open office. Dont go for Office 2004 IMO. Thats one reason i moved to MAC to get away from Microsoft and yes its the only Application that crashes on my G5 Imac.
 
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Microsoft Office runs flawlessly on my iBook. I'm not sure I'd want something else, although I havent tried pages and iWork.
 
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I'm using Shiira web browser now which is based on safari but with more features. Firefox is nice but can crash with certain sites and as for other programs check out www.macupdate.com their are just so many that it really boils down to personal taste. Slim battery monitor is a nice program to have on an ibook and as the battery is li-on based don't let it go completely flat as this is not very good for it. Li-on batteries don't have any memory effect so you can re-charge them whenever you like.

Remember to turn on the firewall in the system prefs/sharing window.

Enjoy your new ibook !
 

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