I’m sure there are 2, maybe 3 other mac users out there, so I’ll ask this here. I’ve searched and found nothing.
I took a peek at the HD on my cute lil’ iMac the other day and saw all this stuff. Is there software available that can help this computer illiterate identify what I should get rid of? Or a MB I can go to to find this kind of info?
Peace, and thanks.
mangeorge
Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
Dance like nobody’s watching! …(Paraphrased)
Lifelong Apple user and damn proud.
I’m still on my IIsi w/System 7.5, but David Pogue’s Macs for Dummies, Chapter 6 is just what you’re looking for. Tells you what each of those files in the System/MacOS folder is, and if you need it. Of course, it’s probably somewhat outdated.
If you want, feel free to email me a list of the files, and I could probably do a decent job of letting you know.
How is the iMac, anyway? I’m thinking of getting one. Is the lack of a floppy drive a problem?
JMcC, San Francisco, JJM’s page from the Bay
“The world is a dungheap, and we are maggots that crawl on it!” -Aldonza, Man of La Mancha
What do you mean by “stuff”? Applications? Files? Kiddie porn? In any case you can probably throw away anything that you don’t use; just be sure to hold on to your startup disk, which has all the programs that came with your computer–that is IF iMacs come with startup disks (I have no idea–Power Mac here)…if they don’t for some odd reason then once you discard of an application, it’s probably gone for good unless you manage to finagle another copy from somewhere.
“My hovercraft is full of eels.”
Here is a good mirror of the Info-Mac freeware and shareware archive:
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive.html
and do yourself a favor and subscribe to the Info-Mac Digest:
mailto:info-mac@starnine.com?subject=subscribe
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Whatever you do, keep the System folder. That runs the Mac. What type of Mac is it?
Check those icons on the bottom of the screen when you run it. Do you need them all?
I have an imac and ibook. You’re right-- they come loaded with a bunch of crap. First thing to do is to chuck whichever one of the web browsers you don’t use. Then to cut down on the memory the system uses, turn off all the extensions which are for appliances you don’t even have-- like all the printer drivers for printers you don’t even own, joystick drivers, filesharing and fax (if you don’t do any of that-- these are things I personally don’t use), etc. Some of the new stuff comes prepped for powerport and palm pilots, etc; if you don’t have those things get rid of em. Since I loathe the idea of AOL all that prepackaged stuff goes away, too. That’s all safe, and a good start. Most of it you don’t have to actually throw away (and if you do it’s still on your CD) but you can just turn it off and save the active memory.
Oh, oh, and I ran into a website somewhere the other day (I need to go back and find it sometime) that lists all mac extensions and what they do and what you need them/don’t need them for. It’s out there somewhere-- you might try a metacrawler search for mac extensions descriptions or something.
Just get rid of the mac.
Yeah, I know, predictable, but someone had to say it.
A pox on you, Nerd. 
To all others, many thanks. I’ve got enough to keep me busy for a while. Also,I’ll surely learn something in the process.
Peace,
mangeorge
Sorry, jjtm, I forgot to answer your question about the iMac. I do like it. A larger screen would be nice, but isn’t a real issue with me. Floppies can, of course, be handled with an external device. I like the USB connection feature but the makers are ripping us off for the priviledge. Oh, well. Mine is the original model. I understand there have been some improvements in later releases.
I think the iBook looks kinda cool too.
Peace,
mangeorge
mangeorge,
Basically, you can throw away anything that’s not in your “System Folder” and trust that it won’t crash your computer. Most of the stuff you find outside your “System Folder” should be obvious what it does. Only you can decide whether or not you need it. I don’t have an iMac, but the System Software CD that came with my G3 has all of the bundled software loaded (plus more actually). If your iMac is the same way, then you can always reinstall later, if you decide you removed something you need. There are a number of things in your “System Folder” that you can trash as well, but the best practice it to move them out to a temporary folder for a few sessions to insure that you haven’t broken anything. Mac OS8 and above won’t let you remove anything that is essential for reboot, so it’s pretty hard to really screw things up…
You Wintel users, don’t try this at home!
imacs do come with a startup disc with the necessary system files, etc. (at least the one i had at work over the summer did). so don’t worry about trashing something by accident, you can always re-install.
personally, i found the imac to be a real bitch. the one at work crashed constantly. i'm much happier with my G3 powerbook and the G3 desktops i also used at work. on the other hand, macworld gave the ibook rave reviews, so i won't pass judgement on that until i've had a chance to use it.
-ellis
Just got an ibook: it is glorious (of course the last laptop I had was a powerbook 170…). The imac I have, though, is one of the original cyan ones that had a few kinks (it’s healthier now) so the ibook is stabler and faster than the desktop version, which keeps surprising me. I’m at a school and have a gig or so to use on the school’s computers, so if I need something transferred to that account I just ftp it and all is well, so the lack of a disk drive doesn’t hurt me personally, although I do think getting rid of the drives was a bit premature for humans-in-the-world.
I used to think that not having a floppy drive was an insane idea, but the other day I started thinking about how often I use floppies these days… the last file I put on a floppy was over three months ago… Pretty much all the file sharing I do no is via email attachments or ftp, if the files are fairly big…
floppies…? we doan need no stinkin floppies…