I am so lost...

RHLD2010 · Jul 15, 2010

Background: My husband and I both cut our computer teeth ummm.... maybe 15 or so years ago, on a Mac. It was a tiny little thing with a monochromatic screen. Then we got a bigger, better one, and I *loved* that computer! It broke my heart when a few years later, he decided to witch to a PC.

Fast-forward to a couple of weeks ago, when we miraculously obtained another Mac (after, yes, 15 years of "Oh, God, why can't I have a Mac back?").

15 years of using a PC will do strange things to a former Mac-head.

I have forgotten how to use a Mac!

What I have now is a MacBook Pro. Since it was given to us (yes, I know, I have fabulous friends), I don't have any documentation for the machine, nor do I know just what software is on it (nor how to figure that out). Nor do I know what to do about registering/warranty on machine and/or software.

I am once again a Mac-Newb!

Will anyone please be my Mac tour guide, and help me a) remember how to use this thing, and b) figure out what (if any) software we ought to consider purchasing in order to do what I need to do with it?

And, I am guessing that the ~15yo software we still have (PageMaker and maybe FileMaker Pro) won't work on this new-fangled machine....???

I did figure out how to turn it on, and Hubby figured out how to get it online, so we've got a good start already, LOL!

RHLD2010 · Jul 15, 2010

ok, I just found the Switch thing...

I'll go through that site and see how many of my questions it answers.

Corbab · Jul 15, 2010

If you click on the Apple (top left corner) and "About this Mac," you can find out the OS X version you're running. "More Info" will show you hardware specs and some other stuff that you may or may not want or need right now. The Mac section of the Apple website has lots and lots of tutorials and intros for Mac users of all levels. You can learn a lot there. Also, don't be afraid to play around. The only things you shouldn't touch are the System and Library folders. Other than that, it's pretty hard to mess things up. If you've got specific questions that you can't find answers to questions in teh Googel, we're a friendly bunch.

Welcome back to Macs!

vansmith · Jul 15, 2010

RHLD2010 said:
Will anyone please be my Mac tour guide, and help me a) remember how to use this thing, and b) figure out what (if any) software we ought to consider purchasing in order to do what I need to do with it?

We'd be glad to help but you'll need to be more specific as to what you want to do with your new Mac. You're also going to have to be specific about what you don't know how to do - if you're not, this thread will never end.

MacGuruG · Jul 15, 2010

Wonderful News - Start At The Apple Support Web Site

Welcome Back To Mac!

1) First, Look Up Your Model at this link and download the available User Guide:
Apple - Support - Manuals

2) Look up your model and save the specs from this web link:
Apple - Support - Technical Specifications

I have been using Macs Since the first one was released. I have also done extensive experimentation into the capability of FileMaker And 'FileMaker PRO', And have developed commercial applications using it.

If your newly acquired mac is a Intel CPU system, then you will need some upgrading to your older software. Software is programmed in a very specific CPU language. The older Macs were based off one CPU language class and the newer Macs are all Intel CPU systems; requiring programs written in the Intel CPU class.

Use A Emulator? ----- Consider Running Your Old Mac Software On Your Newer CPU based Mac By Running A Emulator Piece Of Software. Over the years of the Macintosh computer evolution, there has been three different central processing units (CPU) used as the main brain of the computer system. First, the powerful 68000 Motorola CPU of the day was used in the first 10 years of models. Next, in 1994, the Apple company switched to using the new "PowerPC" CPU models, designed jointly by Apple Computer Co, Motorola, and IBM. Next came another switch to the most widely marketed and used CPU on the planet, the Intel x86 model line.

In order to use an Intel Mac to run programs written for System 7 or a Mac Plus, you must provide this Intel Mac with a emulation software to mimic the older Mac. The open source community has come to our rescue. There are at least three open source projects available online which offer the ability to run Classic software on an Intel Mac (as well as other solutions for running Apple II, Atari software, Commodore 64, Amiga 2000, etc..). Be Warn, Getting "Open Source" software working is sometimes down right extremely difficult!

Always Go To Google First and search for the latest in answers available online. Do a "Google Search" For Mac OS X Emulator for System 7, or Mac SE, or whatever (change the search words and the order of the words; this will give different search results within Google's database. Some "open source" results are: SheepShaver, Basilisk II, and Mini vMac. I have not tested these. I plan to later this year on a new MacBook PRO 15 i7.

Good Luck And Welcome Back tot he superior computing environment of the the Mac World.

Foot Note: I started using the new innovative "Mac" technology from the first released model that first year; and then each model up to my fully loaded Mac II with multiple monitor desktop, when it was first released ($6,xxx.xx cost. Because of the poor cost/performance value, logically I had to switch to building my own custom "power-user" machines based on newly emerging AMD CPU technology, which has been technically far superior to the heavy-advertised Intel x86.

Cheers Gene, CGI Science & Technology Group | Est 1978

toMACsh · Jul 15, 2010

Here are my standard tips for a "switcher":

You cannot cut and paste files in the Finder as you can in Explorer. To move or copy a file from one place to another, the Mac way is to open both the Target and Source folders, then drag and drop the file or folder. There are nuances depending on where the Target folder is. For example, hold down Option while dragging a file to copy it to a folder on the same volume.

The green button at the top does not expand the window to fill your screen. Very few windows need the full screen, so what that does is expand the window so it's large enough to handle the content. This will almost always leave some background visible.

The red button does not usually quit an application. It merely closes the active window, even if there's only one. The "light" by the application's icon in the Dock will indicate if the app is still running.  

You cannot see the size of a file or folder in Icon View by holding your mouse over it. You must highlight the item and use Get Info. Or you can use List View, which will show you the size. There are at least four ways to access Get Info, three of them involving the mouse.

If you have two folders with the same name, but have a few differences between the contents of same, don't move one to the enclosing folder of the other. OSX will not automatically merge the contents of the two folders. Instead, it will overwrite the target folder with the one you're moving. The differences in the target folder will be lost forever. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to overwrite. Be sure you know what that means before saying yes!

You cannot selectively delete items that you have "stored" in the Trash. Sorry.

RHLD2010 · Jul 15, 2010

Corbab said:
If you click on the Apple (top left corner) and "About this Mac," you can find out the OS X version you're running. "More Info" will show you hardware specs and some other stuff that you may or may not want or need right now. The Mac section of the Apple website has lots and lots of tutorials and intros for Mac users of all levels. You can learn a lot there. Also, don't be afraid to play around. The only things you shouldn't touch are the System and Library folders. Other than that, it's pretty hard to mess things up. If you've got specific questions that you can't find answers to questions in teh Googel, we're a friendly bunch.

Welcome back to Macs!

Thank you!

My biggest problem at the moment is that I cannot access the Internet with the Mac at home! I can at the office (there is some sort of wi-fi close by, I think), but at home, where we have a router and several PC's on wireless "thingies" (sorry guys, I am NOT a geek; please excuse my "layman's gobbledygook), it won't let me get online. I may need help with that first!

Corbab, I will "click on the apple" and see what I can learn-- thanks!

RHLD2010 · Jul 15, 2010

vansmith said:
We'd be glad to help but you'll need to be more specific as to what you want to do with your new Mac. You're also going to have to be specific about what you don't know how to do - if you're not, this thread will never end.

You are right, vansmith. What I want to do at this point in time is be able to write. We used to have PageMaker (he still has that old one somewhere, as I mentioned). So "some sort of word processing", and then basic stuff on the Internet. At least at this point. I will also soon need to be able to "mess with images". Um... the pc software we use now would be Photoshop. Nothing too fancy. Corel Draw seems to ring in my head for some reason.... was that a Mac program we used to use for that?

I have found the "Mail" program and figured out (mostly) how to use it. I got it set up to grab my POP3 email, so that is a start.

Can I run my QuickBooks 2009 (from my pc) on this thing?

MacGuruG said:
Welcome Back To Mac!

1) First, Look Up Your Model at this link and download the available User Guide:
Apple - Support - Manuals

2) Look up your model and save the specs from this web link:
Apple - Support - Technical Specifications

I have been using Macs Since the first one was released. I have also done extensive experimentation into the capability of FileMaker And 'FileMaker PRO', And have developed commercial applications using it.

If your newly acquired mac is a Intel CPU system, then you will need some upgrading to your older software. Software is programmed in a very specific CPU language. The older Macs were based off one CPU language class and the newer Macs are all Intel CPU systems; requiring programs written in the Intel CPU class.

Use A Emulator? ----- Consider Running Your Old Mac Software On Your Newer CPU based Mac By Running A Emulator Piece Of Software. Over the years of the Macintosh computer evolution, there has been three different central processing units (CPU) used as the main brain of the computer system. First, the powerful 68000 Motorola CPU of the day was used in the first 10 years of models. Next, in 1994, the Apple company switched to using the new "PowerPC" CPU models, designed jointly by Apple Computer Co, Motorola, and IBM. Next came another switch to the most widely marketed and used CPU on the planet, the Intel x86 model line.

In order to use an Intel Mac to run programs written for System 7 or a Mac Plus, you must provide this Intel Mac with a emulation software to mimic the older Mac. The open source community has come to our rescue. There are at least three open source projects available online which offer the ability to run Classic software on an Intel Mac (as well as other solutions for running Apple II, Atari software, Commodore 64, Amiga 2000, etc..). Be Warn, Getting "Open Source" software working is sometimes down right extremely difficult!

Always Go To Google First and search for the latest in answers available online. Do a "Google Search" For Mac OS X Emulator for System 7, or Mac SE, or whatever (change the search words and the order of the words; this will give different search results within Google's database. Some "open source" results are: SheepShaver, Basilisk II, and Mini vMac. I have not tested these. I plan to later this year on a new MacBook PRO 15 i7.

Good Luck And Welcome Back tot he superior computing environment of the the Mac World.

Foot Note: I started using the new innovative "Mac" technology from the first released model that first year; and then each model up to my fully loaded Mac II with multiple monitor desktop, when it was first released ($6,xxx.xx cost. Because of the poor cost/performance value, logically I had to switch to building my own custom "power-user" machines based on newly emerging AMD CPU technology, which has been technically far superior to the heavy-advertised Intel x86.

Cheers Gene, CGI Science & Technology Group | Est 1978

MacGuruG (Gene is your name?), thanks for the welcome. I am interested to see what you mean about the commercial apps for FileMaker Pro. I learned how to use that years ago (not too well, just the basics), and I am STILL having fits if I try to work with Excel. I don't know that we will actually *need* the FileMaker/Pro software, at least right now, but knowing how to use it couldn't hurt, right?

So, with the emulation software, I can run our old software on this machine? That would be sweet. We don't have a lot of money to spend on programs right now (although I would *love* "the newest and the best" LOL!). I am perfectly content to use what we have, if that is possible.

I am not entirely sure I know what you mean by "open source software"? Is that like "freeware"...???

toMACsh said:
Here are my standard tips for a "switcher":

You cannot cut and paste files in the Finder as you can in Explorer. To move or copy a file from one place to another, the Mac way is to open both the Target and Source folders, then drag and drop the file or folder. There are nuances depending on where the Target folder is. For example, hold down Option while dragging a file to copy it to a folder on the same volume.

The green button at the top does not expand the window to fill your screen. Very few windows need the full screen, so what that does is expand the window so it's large enough to handle the content. This will almost always leave some background visible.

The red button does not usually quit an application. It merely closes the active window, even if there's only one. The "light" by the application's icon in the Dock will indicate if the app is still running.  

You cannot see the size of a file or folder in Icon View by holding your mouse over it. You must highlight the item and use Get Info. Or you can use List View, which will show you the size. There are at least four ways to access Get Info, three of them involving the mouse.

If you have two folders with the same name, but have a few differences between the contents of same, don't move one to the enclosing folder of the other. OSX will not automatically merge the contents of the two folders. Instead, it will overwrite the target folder with the one you're moving. The differences in the target folder will be lost forever. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to overwrite. Be sure you know what that means before saying yes!

You cannot selectively delete items that you have "stored" in the Trash. Sorry.

toMACsh, thanks for those basic reminders! Yes, I think I remember "drag and drop". And I have learned my lesson about "overwriting files" (not on the Mac, but in the past on the pc), so I will be sure to remember that!

Thanks, all, for your *swift* and encouraging replies. I feel like such a dunce. Especially since I can't even get the thing online at my own house.

What shall I do?

Also, another quick question: When I was online at the office earlier today, I opened my Gmail account and went to reply to an email, and I could not access the window to type in. Is Gmail not compatible with the Mac or something? I was quite stumped as to how to get my message written. Help?

RHLD2010 · Jul 15, 2010

Ok, so I clicked "the apple". Here's some of what I found out:

Mac OS X
Version 10.5.6
Processor 2.66 GHz
IntelCore2Duo
Memory 4GB 1067MHz
DDR 3
Number of processors: 1
Total number of cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6MB
BUS speed 1.07GHz
Boot ROM version (some jumble of letters/numbers here; if it matters, let me know)

Disc Burning:
Firmware revision KA19
Interconnect ATAP1
Burn support: yes
cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD; yes
CD-write: -R, -RW
DVD-write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO

Video card:
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT

Ok, now I want to ask this, too: Can I use my HP Office Jet or my Samsung CL-300 (I think) printer with this computer?

Slydude · Jul 16, 2010

I did a quick check of the Samsung site before posting. If that model number is correct it will probably work. It was listed as working through 10.4 which was the last current OS when this printer was still being sold. Since it uses the PostScript file as a driver I bet it will work. Check out the manual http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200812/20081208113231046/Guide_EN.pdf beginning on page 33.

As for the OfficeJet it will likely work also though it is to say without knowing the specific model number. Try following this and see if it solves the problem. Mac 101: Connect your printer I know I have seen better examples I'll keep looking.

chas_m · Jul 16, 2010

Despite what is written above, there is no practical way to run software as old as you describe on your new Mac. Your old printers will probably not be supported either, though of course you can simply visit the manufacturer's web site to see if a Snow Leopard driver exists.

To learn more about your Mac and how to use it, I suggest Switch 101 and Mac 101 and MyFirstMac.com as good resources. For "in person" help, find and join your local Mac User Group. For quick questions, you've already found a great resource -- this forum!

You haven't really "forgotten" how to use a Mac -- everything changed rather drastically about 10 years ago when Apple completely and totally revamped the operating system, then changed the hardware rather radically about five years ago with the move to Intel.

To replace Pagemaker (I remember it well!), you really should take a look at iWork, Apple's $79 "office suite," part of which is a program called Pages. I think you'll find it quite amazing both as a word processor (which is compatible with Microsoft Word) and as a desktop layout tool (running RINGS around Pagemaker quite frankly). iWork also includes a spreadsheet app called Numbers and a slideshow app called Keynote.

Your old Filemaker won't of course run, but FM is still around ... if you're using it on a less-than-professional level, you might also look at Bento. I would have killed for Bento back in the 90s ...

Other than that, your Mac mostly already comes with everything you need to get productive right away. Some of the points in this post I wrote earlier may be of use as well.

Have fun!

vansmith · Jul 16, 2010

RHLD2010 said:
You are right, vansmith. What I want to do at this point in time is be able to write. We used to have PageMaker (he still has that old one somewhere, as I mentioned). So "some sort of word processing", and then basic stuff on the Internet. At least at this point. I will also soon need to be able to "mess with images". Um... the pc software we use now would be Photoshop. Nothing too fancy. Corel Draw seems to ring in my head for some reason.... was that a Mac program we used to use for that?

chas_m said:
To replace Pagemaker (I remember it well!), you really should take a look at iWork, Apple's $79 "office suite," part of which is a program called Pages. I think you'll find it quite amazing both as a word processor (which is compatible with Microsoft Word) and as a desktop layout tool (running RINGS around Pagemaker quite frankly). iWork also includes a spreadsheet app called Numbers and a slideshow app called Keynote.

To add to this, you can use Microsoft Office, which despite many people here stating that is inferior compared to some of the alternatives, works really well for me. There is also OpenOffice which is free and is compatible with Office documents. A caveat about OpenOffice though would be that it has some problems with some Office docs so if compatibility is a concern, I would try it first before committing to it.

Sawday · Jul 16, 2010

RHLD2010 said:
I did figure out how to turn it on, and Hubby figured out how to get it online, so we've got a good start already, LOL!

You also found this site - so already you're well on your way!

RHLD2010 · Jul 16, 2010

chas_m said:
To replace Pagemaker (I remember it well!), you really should take a look at iWork, Apple's $79 "office suite," part of which is a program called Pages. I think you'll find it quite amazing both as a word processor (which is compatible with Microsoft Word) and as a desktop layout tool (running RINGS around Pagemaker quite frankly). iWork also includes a spreadsheet app called Numbers and a slideshow app called Keynote.

Is this it? Amazon.com: iWork '09: Software I like that price a lot better....

Rottie · Jul 16, 2010

RHLD2010 said:
Is this it? Amazon.com: iWork '09: Software I like that price a lot better....

Hi there,

Yep, that's the product Chas was referring to.

You can also download a 30 day trial version from here so you can try it out before committing to buy.

Hope this helps :Cool:

RHLD2010 · Jul 16, 2010

Sweet! When I get home, I'll download it and see how it goes. I think I'll learn a lot from just jumping in and using the machine.

Now, can anyone help me with "what do I do about registering?", since this was a gift and we didn't purchase it ourselves? Do I need to worry about that?

cwa107 · Jul 16, 2010

You also need to click the "Software Update" item under the Apple menu as you're out of date on your operating system by two major revisions.

RHLD2010 · Jul 16, 2010

cwa107 said:
You also need to click the "Software Update" item under the Apple menu as you're out of date on your operating system by two major revisions.

Oh. Please don't tell me the Apple software is going to beg to be updated every morning too, like my Windows does?

cwa107 · Jul 16, 2010

RHLD2010 said:
Oh. Please don't tell me the Apple software is going to beg to be updated every morning too, like my Windows does?

Not every morning, but occasionally. All software has to be updated as security issues and bugs are identified.

vansmith · Jul 16, 2010

No it won't but it does need to be updated much like any other operating system.

EDIT: Can't type fast enough! I'm getting old

.

I am so lost...

RHLD2010

RHLD2010

Corbab

vansmith

Senior Member

MacGuruG

toMACsh

RHLD2010

RHLD2010

RHLD2010

Slydude

Well-known member

chas_m

Guest

vansmith

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Sawday

RHLD2010

Rottie

RHLD2010

cwa107

RHLD2010

cwa107

vansmith

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