New Macbook : a few issues

Hi all, I'm a returning user to the Mac. I originally used one in college way back in 7.5x and have recently purchased a Macbook to review for the company I work for. I can be considered a power user by all interpretations, currently have XP, Vista Beta 2, and Linux (Gentoo and RHEL4) desktops, and am extremely comfortable in the command line. Here's what I've found:

The delete key
Not really a deal breaker - but a huge annoyance! Is there a way to actually get delete key functionality rather than backspace?

I can't play wmv or wma files
Yes I have installed mPlayer(crashes the laptop everytime I start it) and VLC - no dice. I've tried install Flip4Mac but it doesn't support the intel based macs. I'm stuck unable to listen to my music on this or view web videos...

The spinning pinwheel of death
What's up with this thing? Is there a way to switch to a VT or drop into teh CLI and kill whatever process is hung? I experience several "crashes" and am left with an unresponsive GUI and the spinning pinwheel... I am unable to "Force Quit" via the GUI. One alternative seems to be running SSH and using an external box to accomplich this - but there must be a better way...

Networking
All the utilities are there, ifconfig, ping, traceroute, netstat, smbclient, etc... But I can't seem to perform any network discovery via the GUI. Specifically in looking to attach to a Windows or Linux/Samba server. All's well if I know the servername or IP, but there seems to be no discovery...

Overall I like the OS, but it seems a little too dumbed down for me. While in a way it's refreshing, it also limits what I able to do with it. I get the impression everything is set up for a teenage girl (that's not necessarily an insult)...

Are there any other apps or tweaks that open other configuration options? Desktop Manager has been a life saver! Or any CLI apps that many use? I have Googled a fair amount, but haven't really come up with a list of useful apps....

The Delete Key - Hold down the fn key and press the backspace key

WMV / WMA - Check for a new version, I think there is an updated version that you can check a box for intel compatiblilty (under customise)

Spinning penwheel of death - Get more memmory when you can, it will helps oodles

Networking - I'm not too sure about the neworking but chances are if you can't find an app on http://www.macupdate.com/ you can do it in Terminal via UNIX commands.

--Cheers

Flip4Mac is only universal in Beta, but its not an open beta.

You can connect to a Windows server by going to Finder>Go>Connect to Server, the smb to it.

I think what he is looking for is more along the lines of Finder>Go>Network
This brings up a list of all discoverable devices on the current network. There are some other networking tools in the terminal but I'm not really familiar with those cause I'm not really that kind of power user. Gotta catch a train but will be back later with more if i can.

Benjamindaines said:

The Delete Key - Hold down the fn key and press the backspace key

Click to expand...

Excellent

Benjamindaines said:

WMV / WMA - Check for a new version, I think there is an updated version that you can check a box for intel compatiblilty (under customise)

Spinning penwheel of death - Get more memmory when you can, it will helps oodles

Click to expand...

Have 1 gig, that should be enough - getting more is not going to happen...

mynameis said:

You can connect to a Windows server by going to Finder>Go>Connect to Server, the smb to it.

Click to expand...

This is fine, if I know the name or IP of the server/share. There seems to be no discovery that I can find other than CLI *nix tools.

A major source of spinning beachballs for me is a non-universal application. Every PPC app that I've used has worked perfectly -- no problems. However, when I open up a semi-intensive PPC app, then it almost automatically starts spinning the ball. This is not really an easy problem to fix, though there are ways.

Of course, get at least one gig of RAM (which you said you have). Try to find alternative solutions for those apps--at least until they are universal. Finally, don't run too many Rosetta apps at once -- you will experience a major slow down.

Weirdly enough, when using a PPC app I've discovered that if I leave it to do its thing and go off to another app, everything else is fine. I am assuming this a result of the dual core technology :-D

mac_user said:

Excellent


Have 1 gig, that should be enough - getting more is not going to happen...


This is fine, if I know the name or IP of the server/share. There seems to be no discovery that I can find other than CLI *nix tools.

Click to expand...

My Windows machine shows up under Network in finder, it may be the way you have your workgroups setup.

You may have more luck with the Airport & Networking forum for an answer to networking questions.

mac_user said:

Have 1 gig, that should be enough - getting more is not

Click to expand...

One gig should deffinetly be enough, what apps are you running when this happens. If it is a PPC only app (PhotoShop etc) then this is to be expected because of Rosetta.

On the network issue, have you tried what both Schweb and I suggested?

I'm pretty sure I posted a rosetta work around for the Flip4Mac plugin.

I do find it odd that you were assigned/choosen or volunteered for this review with such little experience with OS X. There is one thing I hope you remember while you're learning the OS and that is OS X is not Windows or Linux and so it is a mistake to approach it as such.

I agree, OS X is a totally new operating system ... it's not like it's a a different type of Windows. That's why some switchers have such a hard time because they want to make it like Windows.