!!! Getting a new iMac!!! OS X!!! Incoherent glee!!!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

OK, I had to share. I just ordered a new iMac. It comes next week. It’s the Indigo one, low-end, but still cool. I will have 768 megs of RAM in it. 20 GB HD. 500 MHz. OS 9 and OS X. FIREWIRE!!!

It just came to me in about half an hour of musing, that I needed a new one. Even though money is tight. And so I just ordered my iMac from MacMall tonight. Just like that.

I guess the thing that inspired me to do it was that I just heard that Illustrator 10 is coming out, which requires OS 9.1. And I am running OS 8.6 on my 266 MHz iMac. And I just wasn’t looking forward to upgrading (and paying for the upgrade CD). And my 266 iMac needs more RAM put in. (It’s got 160 megs now, but RAM just doesn’t go as far as it used to, you know?) And I thought about all the rigaramole I’d have to go through to do all of this, and the money I’d spend, and I figured, “Screw it! Sell the old iMac on eBay! Get a new iMac! It’ll only be a few hundred dollars difference! Why sink more money into your old iMac when you can have a new one that is soooo much better?”

I am pathetically thrilled. I am looking forward to seeing OS X. And I am SO looking forward to not having to cram everything into one small 6 GB hard drive. (I am such a hard drive hog!) And I am incoherent with glee over 768 megs of RAM!!!

So, I thought I’d share my joy. And while I’m at it, I thought I’d ask the other Mac dopers about their experiences with OS X, and how it all works (how do OS X and OS 9 co-exist on the same hard drive? Is it partitioned? How does this work?) And I wanted to ask about “Classic” mode, and how does Photoshop work in “Classic”, and what about Dreamweaver? I have all sorts of questions.

And I am so thrilled about getting a new iMac! :smiley:

2

I am envious.

I have some money, and I’d love to get me a new G4 tower. I know exactly which one I want, too.

I could justify it by saying that my mom needs my current computer, a graphite iMac, to replace her aging PM 7200.

But I probably won’t do it. :frowning:

Anyway, I can’t answer your questions, but I know other Mac-using Dopers are using OS X, so they’ll be able to help you. And there’s always MacFixit’s OS X page and forums.

Congrats on your new 'puter. :slight_smile:

3

Yes, MacOS X is awesome, it is the holy grail of personal computing, a mainstream OS with gazillions of apps plus Unix. The unix stuff is a lot more useful if you have a full-time live broadband net connection like a cable modem, so you can run full-time net services like a web server.

You made a wise choice ordering a lot of RAM. Boy it’s cheap lately, I just installed a 512Mb SIMM in my Powerbook, last time I looked they were $400 and I just bought one for $78. MacOS X runs a lot better on G3 machines with a ton of RAM. Hell, it runs better on ALL machines with a ton of RAM, but G3s especially benefit.

Here’s what you need to know to get up and running quickly.

A bizzarely formatted page with a load of basic tips:
http://www.ourpla.net/guiunix/GettingXGoing.html

The #1 most valuable resource for MacOS X users:
http://www.macosxhints.com

New apps as they arrive:
http://www.macosxapps.com
http://softrak.stepwise.com/Softrak (kinda geeky unixy)
http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/index.shtml

I note that Classic integration has improved radically since MacOS 9.2.1 shipped. I used to keep two MacOS 9 partitions on my machine, one with a minimal configuration, just for use in Classic with MacOS X, and one with my full regular OS9 configuration with all the bells and whistles. But now with 9.2.1, that is no longer necessary, my regular config works fine. I now keep MacOS X and Classic all on the same partition.
I note with extreme pleasure that the latest update for Conflict Catcher now works under Classic, it used to prevent Classic from launching if it was active, but now it works fine. It is a lot easier to manage those extensions under Classic with a great util like CC, rather than Apple’s Extension manager.

Yes, pretty much everything runs on Classic that would run on OS9. I haven’t found any apps that won’t run, but a few hardware gadgets like my 15-year-old serial Wacom tablet won’t run. But then, there are no serial ports on the modern macs anyway. Photoshop runs fine. Dreamweaver runs fine. BBEdit is especially nice with DW, there are full and free versions that run native in MacOS X. Plus now you can run a local Apache webserver and test your DW pages in a live server right in the background on your own machine. That is insanely great. You can also set up advanced dynamic pages (I use Dreamweaver UltraDev) using database hooks into MySQL, dynamic languages like PHP, Perl, etc. That is the true strength of MacOS X. But if you ignore the geek stuff, it’s still one amazing OS. Apple has gone to great lengths to isolate users from having to deal with the geek stuff unless they want to, they did an excellent job of making Unix userfriendly, hiding most of the hardcore stuff, but making it available to power users who want it.

4

Congratulations, yosemitebabe! :slight_smile:

5

Thanks everyone! I am still reeling. I had no idea I’d buy a new iMac yesterday. NO IDEA I’d do this. And here I’ve done it!

But it just came to me, that it made more sense to get a new one. And I’d get more bang for my buck this way, instead of putting more money into an old machine. When I sell my current iMac, (and some other old iMac-related stuff) I won’t exactly break “even” in cost, but it will only be a few hundred dollars difference. TOTALLY worth it.

AudreyK - I won’t say “Go for it!” if you don’t want to take the G4 plunge yet. And after all, there will be new models coming out all the time. But still - it’s a great feeling, to be getting a NEW Mac! I recommend it! And I’m sure your mom would like your old iMac!

Chas.E. Wow. Thanks for the great links. I will bookmark them all. And thanks for the encouraging words on running OS X and 9. I probably won’t want to fiddle much with my iMac’s original configuration (like partitioning - at least not yet). So knowing that OS 9.2.1 works well is a relief. And it’s good to know that my favorite applications will work well too! Wow.

And yes, I am glad I got the extra RAM. The thing is, it didn’t occur to me right away. I was still thinking in OS 8.6 terms. The iMac shipped (with MacMall’s additional “free” RAM upgrade) with 320 megs, which seemed fine to me. MORE than fine. But about an hour after placing my order, I wondered how far 320 would go with OS X, so I called MacMall back. And when I found out that 320 wouldn’t go that far, and that an extra 512 megs of RAM was about $57 (no additional installation fee) it was a no-brainer. I just called them in time, too. They were about to ship my iMac out to me! I delayed the shipment of my iMac by a day so I could get the extra RAM in, but no problem! I think 768 will hold me for a while.

Cajun Man: Thanks! :slight_smile:

6

Yeah, 786M is fine, that’s what I have in my Powerbook G3/500 which I suspect is very similar in performance to your new iMac. My RAM was a little more expensive than yours because it’s a special SIMM just for Powerbooks. I was thinking of buying a gig of RAM for my desktop machine, but its almost time to buy a new CPU. You ought to read this report, it says the new prototype G5 chips, rumored to ship in Macs possibly as soon as this winter, are already running at 1.6Ghz, and benchmark twice as fast as a Pentium4 2Ghz.

Anyway, you have my email address, so mail me if you get stuck. Always glad to help a fellow Mac artist.

7

Congratulations! OS X is deeply fun. I’ve been using it for months–yes, I bought it on the day it came out–on my G4. (Add me to your list of people you can email with random questions, by the way.)

I will warn you that it will take you a few days to get used to the new interface; things have moved around a little bit from where you are used to seeing them. But then you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it. Photoshop will run exactly as you remember it from your last computer. Pretty much all your OS9 apps will, actually.

And better still: things won’t crash nearly as much! And if something does it won’t take the rest of the computer with it. Oh, the transcendent bliss.

Wheeee! Oh yes. It is fun. It is fast. It is pretty. It is stable. I feel like such a geek for being so excited over an operating system, but there it is. All I need now is Halo.

8

I just want to say that I’m officially jealous of yosemitebabe. Not only is she getting a new computer, but she’s getting MacOS X to boot.

[HomerSimpson]
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… Aqua…
[/HomerSimpson]

I’d upgrade myself, but my budget doesn’t allow for new software at this time. :frowning: And I keep having fantasies about a nice new G4 PowerMac with a Cinema Display and a SuperDrive… :smiley: :frowning: :frowning:

9

Now for the most important question of all: What color did you get?

Does anybody have any guesses about the mysterious new “device” that Steve is announcing on Tuesday? I’m very skeptical about the rumors of an MP3 player on steroids.

10

I wish I had the money for a new computer. Instead I just spent about 80$ to get more RAM. Soon my powerbook will have it’s max RAM. Then maybe OsX will work for me.

How is your old one doing on eBay?

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I wish I had the money for a new computer. Instead I just spent about 80$ to get more RAM. Soon my powerbook will have it’s max RAM. Then maybe OsX will work for me.

How is your old one doing on eBay?

12

I am personally hoping for some sort of digital video recorder, like Tivo, that will record to DVDs. Now that would be insanely great. Most of the hardware and software to do this already exists on the new desktop machines, all you need to add is a video tuner card. Tivo already is based on PPC chips, so it’s easily achievable.

13

Yes, I am officially thrilled. VERY thrilled.

Thanks Chas. E and Grandfather Trout, for the offer of email help. I have a feeling I will have more questions! And thanks for the link about the new G5s, Chas! Sounds pretty exciting!

The Tim: I haven’t put my “old” iMac on eBay yet. I couldn’t bear to be Mac-less for even a second! I am typing on it right now. I will clean off all my files in the next few days, and prepare it for sale. When I am confident that the new iMac is working fine (no lemon, no “issues” that require a return or repair) I’ll put the old iMac up on eBay. I estimate in a week or two. By the way, how much RAM does your Powerbook have now? And what model of Powerbook is it?

Mojo: the color is Indigo! The only color this model comes in. It is the cheapest of the available iMacs - only $800! I looked at the models on the next level up, and they didn’t offer that much more. They are $1000, and have CD-RW (but I already have an external CD-RW) and a bit more RAM. But RAM is so insanely cheap, so no big deal. If I didn’t have a CD-RW drive already, I would have gone for the $1000 model, but as it was - why bother? The other higher-end models look great (600-700 MHz, 40-60 GB HD, etc.) but I just can’t afford that right now. And I really think I can get by with 20 GB for a while! :wink: I don’t work with a whole lot of huge files.

Sometimes I know it’s good to wait until you can afford a better, more high-end machine. But I just didn’t see an extra $1300+ dropping on my lap anytime soon. And I felt like my current iMac still has some value - around $400-$500 (I am pretty sure) and it is still in good shape. Why wait for its value to go down even more? Or, worst case scenario, why wait for it to go belly-up? (God forbid!) I just thought it was wise to set the old one free while I can still get some decent money for it, and get a new iMac. And still be able to afford it all!

rjung: I dream of G4s too. But alas, it is not to be, at least not this time. You know what I really would have loved? The G3 Blue-and-White “Yosemite” series, that came out a few years ago! They seem so “me” somehow! :smiley:

14

All you bastards can go shove it ;). Stop talking about your new iMacs and G4’s, you’re making me jealous! I’ve only recently (last month in fact) moved up from 7-year old 68040-based systems.

Best computer I have is a 400 MHz G3-upgraded PB 1400. Sounds cool, but there are 4 problems:
a)Slow bus speed(33 MHz)
b)Aging architecture(NuBus)
c)Slow VRAM (bad for games)
d)Max RAM of 64 MB

Plus, I can’t run OS X.

So, who wants to contribute to the “Buy Cleophus a New G4” fund?

15

I’ve got a bronze keyboard G3 powerbook. It only has 64MB of RAM built in right now. It’s pathetic. But soon it will be wonderous. I’ll actually be able to survive the IE RAM leaks.

16

IANAMacUser, but…

You need to get OS X.1! I understand that it just came out, it’s a free update, and supposedly, it runs the way OS X was designed to.

I am assuming it is a download at Apple.com or somewhere like that.

17

Ooo, I miss my iMac with OSX. From a technical standpoint, it was a wonderful OS, but my favorite part about it was the look and feel. I found it hard to not lick my monitor–everything is so round and shiny and looks just like candy!

Good luck with OSX! I’m sure you’ll love it.

18

drops all her change into the SDMB Mac Users’ Get-A-G4 fund

It’s great how the price continues to drop on the Cinema Display-- it’s down to $2499 now. It’ll still be about ten thousand years before I can afford one, though.

19

You’re all cultish mac loving freaks “oh oh, did u get the blue one or the red one, who cares how powerful it is, just as long as it matches my nails…”

20

Ooh, do I sense a beige-boxer’s envy?

Clayton, iMacs are color coded by speed (generally speaking). When Yosemitebabe says she got the indigo, we know the exact CPU specs. And we are way too cool to refer to our machines by boring numbers.