My iMac... I can't believe this.

thanx. I suppose it will then be up to the individual to evaluate the security of the site before giving out personal data - that little padlock took me ages to spot.

Regarding ichat I have been bouncing all over different web discussions and whether its AIM,SKYPE,MSN etc there are so many problems and computer freezes that I am going to wait till I become more computer savvy before downloading anything that will harm or cause computer problems. I will visit the local mac store that will most probably try to sell me a .mac account for detailed advice. Until then phone will do.

Hi all, I am in panic mode, can anyone help?

I turned on the imac and proceeded with an update to keynote,itunes and safari. When prompted to update now the computer remained frozen for some time so I had to force quit, I then opted for restart but it froze so I performed a force quit using the back button and then unplugged from the mains. On start up all was normal but I noticed that my mac drive icon on the screen had a series of "++++++++" under the icon. I thought maybe because the update was not successful so I updated the software successfully and very quickly this time, all seems well but the "+++++++" remain. Any ideas?

ps. I think it could have froze the first time because I did not tick off to NOT update keynote as I do not need it at this time and my iWork is a free trial at the moment. I only ticked itunes and safari the second time.

Hi all, first of all I would like to apologize to the thread starter if it seams that I am hijacking this thread, I did have a thread called "a family computer for home" but it has been closed so rather than start a pointless new one and yet another mac thread which could make it harder when researching macs on this forum I thought I could tag on.

Regarding my little panic the other night everything is working as it should be, the updates I performed are the latest updates as I have checked them on the apple site, the "++++++++" under the mac hd icon I just renamed to Macintosh HD. I was hoping that I could visit my local Apple Store and get an informed answer but as usual work won't let me even on weekends so I have no expert opinion. My common sense tells me that when I updated the software I should have updated only safari and itunes, I should have unticked keynote as I am using a trial version, where would the update have been performed? This must have confused the issue.

This thread has been recommended to someone looking to step into the world of Apple so I would like to say; coming from pc at work I am not too computer literate and the differences between the mac and pc interface is not too big and takes little getting used to. I do not sit infront of the computer all day but the departure from all those bright blue windows and flashing lights to the colours of apple is so welcoming with more style and less stress on the eye. The speed of opening an application is 1 click and you're there as compared to double click loads of NOISE and a cup of tea while you wait.

It really does feel so much more stable in its applications and just everything about it feels so much more professional and in a contemporary style which would suit designers.

All its software works together seamlessly as they have been made for mac which provides its stability and for me was the deciding factor, they are mainly for fun to be used in photos, dvd authoring and music but they are all you need unless you are a pro in those fields. So the only software you will need is all that keeps pc so popular, Word, Excel and maybe Messenger. I am currently using iwork on trial which even me with my limited computer skills lets me open excel or word and save to excel or word. I may end up buying iwork as I would like to keep all my software made for mac by apple as much as possible. There are some very knowledgeable people here that can advise good free to download open source office software and there is of course microsoft word and excel for mac.

In all I am very happy, the Mrs is happy, the children are happy and I had to kick my brother off garageband so he could go home.

ps. check out the video tutorials on the apple web site as they are very informative