Buying a Mac secondhand

Just check the fans and power supply. i.e. get up close and personal. The power supply resides right in the bottom of the unit and if it hums loudly could cost.

You can check ram and that from 'About this mac' in the apple menu and also get more info with apple system profiler in the utilities folder.

The mac does come with key board and mouse so assume he is including it.

And for gods sake get a flat screen for it!

Otherwise, as usual a stable machine.

And should you ever have any trouble, iGary MacGuru will soon have it sorted.

<g> Thanks
and yes it comes with wide display

Derek

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Now now Alex, I believe it is time you got yourself into OSX, or would you tell me you have one important application in 9?

Derek, you know that really you have to you OSX on the G5, don't ponce around in 9 you will strangle it.

Derek,

Although all G5 towers are 64-bit, only two previous (and now discontinued) models are single-processor units -- the 1.6 GHz and 1.8 Ghz G5.

There's nothing wrong with these single-processor machines -- they are fast and expandable -- but neither is up to the spec of any dual-processing unit. So, if you're interested in a single-processor G5 I think it's fair and proper to get a bit of a deal. Few things depreciate faster than a previous-generation computer...

If you have several models to choose from, try to find one that has at least 512 MB of RAM (ideally, 1 GB), a 160 GB HD, and a fancy ATI video card.

Joe, who ordered a G5 and monitor earlier this week...

Gary, I'm fully OSXed at home and work now - couldn't face another moment with that rasberry iMac. I know eMacs are a bit lowly for you but they're very cheap, especially if you're a teacher.

If all goes well it is a G5 2.0ghz, 1.5gb ram, OSx latest

Derek

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Bought it - now clearing out sufficent desk and floor space to get it working.

The vendor gave a most impressive display of the capabilities of the machine.

THanks for all the comments

Derek

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I dont have a Mac but I do have a dark brown overcoat.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

Mike - as long as you keep it buttoned up you should be ok then <g>

Derek

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I had to re-waterproof mine, but it's fine the noo, occassional virus attacks though, but non ever get through COS IT's A MAC.


Fritz von Karamac & Rattle

Derek,

Did you also risk incurring the Wrath of Count by buying an Apple LCD display?

Joe

Joe

I am afraid I did the 20inch cinema display was part of the bundle.

Will it serve me well - most probably it will be better than my current CRT - it will be small enough so that it can cohabit with the other CRT and and the laptop on the desk and it will bring me up to date with technology (a few emabarrassing serial devices to be connected some how (I hope that there is a USB to Serial converter available) and I need - must ensure some how that I can print via the lan to my Postscript printer (which is parallel or serial only)

I am still mucking out my study to create space for the beast<g>

Derek

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Derek,

quote:

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I am afraid I did the 20inch cinema display was part of the bundle.

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Either I'm blind or have low standards, but in my view the 20-inch Cinema Display is every bit the equal of a good CRT monitor (unless your reference is a pro monitor like a Barco or Sony Artisan).

Joe

Now on Safari with the G5 - wow it fast

Derek

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Watch a repeat of "The Gadget Show" on C5, then buy a PC!

quote:

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Originally posted by Derek Wright:
...(a few emabarrassing serial devices to be connected some how (I hope that there is a USB to Serial converter available) and I need - must ensure some how that I can print via the lan to my Postscript printer (which is parallel or serial only)

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Derek;
None of the above is particularly complicated, but there are some truly dreadfull devices available quite expensively which claim to do what you want. There are also good ones, often available more cheaply than the ones which don't work. Feel free to confess your serial devices here...

Also, if your printer has a PostScript interpreter, it would be quite surprising if it didn't have a network card in it with an twisted pair Ethernet socket. If it really doesn't, you can either add one (depends on the printer) or get a print server box which will handle PostScript -- the HP ones are quite good, although others may have better recommendations. The only software you should need to print to it via your Mac's ethernet interface is a .PPD file (usually available from Adobe, which you copy to /Libary/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj/, then go to System Preferences/Network/Built-in Ethernet, and activate AppleTalk (if it isn't already). Launch Printer Setup (Applications/Utilties) and click "Add" -- your printer should be seen, and will be configured automatically.

Best;

Mark

Mark

At the moment I intend to keep the other machines as I have software on them that I helped create and I know my way around them and also 200gb of disk storage. So assumimg I can get the machines talking to each other over the lan I should be able to print from the Mac to the laser (Lexmark Optra R+ with PostScript and PCL emulation)

The other printer is an Epson Photo Stylus (pretty old but adequate) which I would have liked to directly connect to the Mac but it can stay on the laptop and I can print from the old environment (I hope I can copy files from the mac to the other machines for printing)

The serial device is a PalmPilot 3c which I would like to have syncing with the Mac as I do not get the Palm desktop working reliably on my other machines (problems with the win32 emulation)

My next investigation area once I have the lan part working is to hit the news groups and do some serious Google Grouping to get more information.

Any comments would be much appreciated

Derek

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quote:

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Originally posted by Derek Wright:
So assumimg I can get the machines talking to each other over the lan I should be able to print from the Mac to the laser (Lexmark Optra R+ with PostScript and PCL emulation)

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Looking at your printer's specs, I see that that they have indeed ommitted a network interface. Best option will probably be a print server of some sort as previously stated, although bear in mind that print servers come built into all sorts of things now (including routers, for example) so assess all your requirements before laying out money! You could theoretically use either computer to "host" the Lexmark to the rest of the network, but this is likely to cause more problems than it solves, what with font issues, etc.

Once you have the Lexmark talking to the LAN, download the MacOS X software from here. Note that this is not a driver per se, but an installer which puts an appropriate PPD in the right place, and installs extensions to the Print dialogue box to take account of paper trays and other features unique to this printer. A maintenance utility also appears to be included.

quote:

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The other printer is an Epson Photo Stylus (pretty old but adequate) which I would have liked to directly connect to the Mac but it can stay on the laptop and I can print from the old environment (I hope I can copy files from the mac to the other machines for printing)

---

Your best solution is Epson's USB->Parrallel cable. This will connect straight to the Mac -- you may well find that the printer driver is already built into MacOS X, but if it isn't, it will probably be on the installer disks which come with your machine. The cable (I think -- haven't fiddled with one of these on MacOS X) may come with a separate driver which you will also need to install. Much depends on exactly which Epson Stylus Photo you have -- if it's the original "Epson Stylus Photo" (with no number) then congratulations, but you're in trouble this is one of the very few for which there is no MacOS X driver that I can find.

If you do need to print by copying files over to the laptop first, you'll need to restrict your font useage to those which are installed on both the Mac and the laptop. Alternatively, a better way would be to "Save as PDF" from the Mac's print dialogue, and just copy the PDF across. You can open/print the PDF from the laptop using Acrobat Reader.

quote:

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The serial device is a PalmPilot 3c which I would like to have syncing with the Mac as I do not get the Palm desktop working reliably on my other machines (problems with the win32 emulation)

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Your IIIc should work brilliantly with the Mac. However, since you cannot get a USB cradle for it, you will need the KeySpan PDA adaptor. This works -- others don't. Then, go here to download Palm Desktop 4.2.1 for MacOS X (you fill in a form, and they email you a link). When you install it, check the ReadMe to see if they recommend installing while logged in as Root -- some versions can cause problems if you don't do this. PD will import contact, etc. from just about anything, and supports vCards & vCal formats. It was originally based on a product called Claris Organiser which was released by Apple subsidiary Claris, and remains unbeaten IMHO as a contact manager.

Let us know how you get on!

Best;

Mark

Wow! Beat that, iGary.

Mark

Many thanks for the information

In reverse order: according o the web site the Keyspan PDA adapter has now been replaced by a device thy call the "High Speed USB " Adapter so I assume that it will do the job just as well

Re the Lexmark printer, it will defintely remain connected to one of the other machines where I expect to continue doing text related work.

I will experiment with printing from the Mac via the main machine once I get them recognising each other.

The Epson printer is only used for photos and as I only print few pictures locally - transferring them to the laptop or the main non mac machine will be no problem.

I will keep you posted on my progress - "The Missing Manual" arrived today so now I can start to learn the mac in more formal way - is there an overall help or manual online in OSX - if so I have not found it yet.

Thanks again

Derek

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Derek;

Boot the machine, and when it settles, choose "Mac Help" from the "Help" menu at the top of the screen. Advanced it isn't, but it will help you identify what you don't know. You should get this:

Mark

Thanks - discovered it

Derek

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Ah derek, I thought you had always had macs no?

Gimp is available from www.versiontracker.com, you will need X11 but otherwise the Gimp app is self extracting etc.

I expect you are having fun in iphoto, just plug your camera in and turn it to the squiggly line and iphoto will load up. In preferences you can set it to lauch any application you want when you double click a picture, very handy.

Gary

No I have been and will continue to use OS/2 as my base system/lan.

No need for Gimp on the G5 as it has Photoshop CS

I have had a play with iPhoto - very impressed with it

Just need to get the machines talking to each other

Derek

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