There is no Superdrive option for the TiBook because there isn’t a SuperDrive in existence right now that’s thin enough for the enclosure.
And Cartooniverse, does your TiBook come with AppleWorks? That should give you all your basic word processing/spreadsheet/database needs right there.
If you’re bored, play with iTunes. Turn on the visualizer for a free head trip. 
Nope, apparently like all new Apple machines, it does NOT come “loaded” with software pacakges. It has OS9, OSX and the usual stuff on the Dock. That is it. However, I’m going to make use of Microsoft Suite for Macintosh, since most of the world wishes to send and recieve documents in the Windows format, and I cannot see sending an Apple Word document that has an entire job hanging on it, only to have my potential client call me up and says, " Sorry, would have loved to have read it, but it’s not readable".
That’s not an option. Some of the other amazing features and software will be indulged, but the basic word processing stuff really has to remain in the Windows realm. I cannot clog the machine with THREE OS’s. I cannot see putting in the Virtual PC OS, in addition to OS9 and OSX. After all, the point IS to have a fairly free HD so I can dump in gobs of video and audio, and make my way in the world.
My wife’s already asked me if she can play Boldur’s Gate on the new machine. Why doesn’t she GET it??? 
Yeah, iTunes was cool. I did learn how to burn a few songs into the Library, make a new folder just for “YES” Music and move things around a little. I am still NOT able to get that damned iMovie Tutorial practice movie to launch. AFAIK, it ONLY offered itself to me the very first time I launched iMovie off the Dock. Now, it assumes I know what the frick I’m doing in there, and will not offer me the chance to learn it again.
Any ideas on WHERE I can find, and launch, the iMovie Practice Edit sessions, so I can learn how to cut on that first, before moving on to Final Cut Pro? Heeeeelp !
Hmmm, AppleWorks came with my iMac DV+, maybe Apple includes it only with the consumer computers? In any event, I believe the latest version of AppleWorks includes translators for MS Word, so you can use it to read and save files in MS Word format.
The iMovie practice session files should be on the iMovie CD. The tutorial is definitely helpful, but you can always just import some random footage from your camcorder (assuming you have one) and play with it – it’s very easy to learn.
As I am learning hour by hour, the Mac OS-X is a case of " less is more". Yes, it’s Unix based and won’t crash AS easily. However it is painfully apparent both from the book I’ve bought, AND from simply moving around between the two, that Mac OS-9 had MORE choices. For someone highly acquainted with Mac already, perhaps OS-X is a delightful powerful streamlining.
For me this is not the case. Anyway to address what rjung just said: AppleWorks does not come with a TiBook. In fact, nothing does except the basic two OS’s ( It comes loaded with OS-9 and OS-X ), iMovie and iTunes. Aside from that, it’s empty.
Additionally, I’m informed that this device does not come with iMovie CD’s. Unlike the iMac, ( for some ungodly reason ), I do not get backups separate for iMovie and iTunes. Get this: If you have a problem or the software fails, I HAVE TO RESTORE MY HARD DRIVE TO IT’S FACTORY CONDITION. That’s right, instead of being allowed to simply pull out the corrupted software and do a fresh install, you have to wipe the HD- and either lose all data, OR burn a shitload of CD’s.
I’ve been told this both by AppleHelp tech people on the phone, and by the store personnel. Sorry but to me this is highly unacceptable.
Forcing me to not be allowed to replace a single piece of software if it fails is an atrocity. I told the store people as much, and they very much had their tails between their legs. They offered to burn me a copy of iMovie and iTunes off of the Internet, if they could not find a new version on CD in the store to burn for me.
It does beg a nasty question. If iMovie and iTunes are integral, and not offered as separate backup disks, then if one of them fails… HOW do I even FIND those distinct files, to delete them in case they DO become corrupt. Somehow, I find it almost impossible to believe that files only can become corrupted on a Hard Drive under a Windows based system. Hard Drives do lose sectors. How can I find these two programs, in case I need to replace them?
Obviously this won’t be a problem for any software I LOAD IN myself- it’s incumbent upon me to do serous backups. However, due to the main work that this machine will be doing, I am planning a wooden rack of external Hard Drives, daisy-chained together with FireWires. Using one of them as a clone of the TiBook’s Hard Drive is the easiest of my problems. I will, weekly if not more, simply clone the HD off to the 1st External Drive in the chain. Right now I’m envisioning between 3-5 80 Gig Hard Drives, plus a Cloning HD- 30 Gig, first in line. That should allow me the flexibility to work on huge projects, and still be portable. I could move that entire set-up into a padded hard shipping case in twenty minutes, if I wire it carefully and securely in bundles. Anyway, that’s the plan. Time will tell.
I’ve looked in this immense and daunting manual called “Mac OSX: The Missing Manual”. I think I need to find " Mac OSX For Dummies", because this entire book is FILLED with great info, but it assumes a highly intimate understanding of all that Mac OS-9 offered.
I’m lost.
Lemme add one thing here. I am still absolutely convinced that this was the perfect choice for my needs. I’m just dismayed at the tone of the instruction manuals. It’s not that hard to educate someone new to the rig, in addition to educating those familiar with it. It’s all in how you say it…
Cartooniverse - loads of great Mac freeware and software can be found at http://www.downloads.com
http://www.tucows.com
http://www.macupdate.com
http://www.chezmark.com
What’s the problem with your wife playing Baldur’s Gate? It should work fine. (Or you just can’t bear to share your new toy just yet? - don’t blame you!!)
Burn a copy of the iMovie and iTunes folders, and of your active System Folder, to CD. That oughta do it. (under MacOS 9, that is. under MacOS X, not, but I think you can prompt a re-download of current versions of either one under MacOS X using the Software Update feature).
I haven’t checked in ages, but the MacOS X installation program might have an option to let you re-install specific components, instead of everything at once. Most Mac software installers have a “Custom” option for stuff like that.
As for the lack of iMovie tutorial files, don’t sweat it. There’s nothing in them you can’t get by taking a camcorder and stalking the cat for five minutes.
I agree, the lack of AppleWorks seems stupid to me. Just because Apple feels that most professional users won’t need it isn’t an excuse to not bundle it anyway – let the customer decide whether or not to toss the program.
Nothing gets by you 
Actually, there are several reasons. The one you just listed is one. She’s VERY hard on things. She even breaks her mouses ( Mice? Meese? ).
Thank you for those links to those sites. I need to get online, download my Firewall- Zone Alarm ( I can only assume it will work on this machine !! ), and then go onto the Web and get some stuff. I dont’ want to load this machine down however, I really need the HD space for the work. Video and audio are storage suckers.
AHunter3, your advice makes perfect sense to me. However, until I hear from the upgrade people in Texas, and send the machine way, I cannot burn a CD yet. Right now it’s just got the DVD drive in it, not the combo. Again I am curious- if Mac OS-X is this new hotsy totsy program, that’s virtually uncrashable ( I’ll address THAT myth in a moment ), then why can’t I burn the CD’s of iMovie and iTunes and the active System Folder while working in OS-X ??
Now then. The choice to buy this machine- a Macintosh, instead of a VERY high powered Windows-based system, was predicated to a large degree on the “fact” that Mac OS-X is supposedly impossible to crash. They say it rarely if ever happens. I figured that I needed to go with an OS that would not rob me of minutes or hours of editing work without warning.
Yesterday, a friend came over with his Sony mini DV-cam. He had shot video of my kid. We plugged the firewire into the back of the TiBook. We were unable to import any video or audio. I could control his camera through the cable, but nothing else. I call the Apple Store, and talk to the nice lady who sold me the machine. She asked me the model #, and checked, and informed me that it was not on the list of Compatible Cameras. HUH??? Ok, fine. I will have to get that list BEFORE I go camera shopping. Nice to know. :rolleyes:.
While I am still on the phone with her, we unplug the FireWire cable, and I go to put the machine into Shut Down, so I can leave the house. It crashed.
That’s right. Instead of shutting down, the circle spun for a few seconds, and then the screen was jet black, with white ASCII tex in various places. All were left justified, but they said various coding coments, errors, etc. I told the gal what had just happened. She sounded shocked. ( I’m getting a little tired of debunking the Impenetrable Perfect Mac OS-X Myth here…). She claims she’s never heard of such a thing happening before. I asked if I had done wrong by pulling the FireWire cable WHILE the computer was still on ( a big no-no in the Windows world ). She said no, that the TiBook is designed to have Hot Plug Ins. She had no answer for why it crashed, but it had.
This is after trying to import a single bit of video and audio from the outside world, for the first time. This is with a virgin machine, with NO online data pulled down, no files transferred, no bugs, no hacking, no nothing. The seemingly invincible OS-X crashed.
Here is a direct quote from this book I bought to accompany this machine. It’s written by a supposed Mac “guru”, David Pogue. This quote appears on PAGE TWO of this book…
David Pogue? Whoever you are, and whatever brand of ass-kissing, self-fulfilling bullshit you shovel, you can kiss my pudgy pale ass because I saw it happen last night at roughly 5:35 EST. No Urban Legend, no third party story being repeated. This is a TOTALLY virgin machine ( unless now I’m supposed to think that importing some rock songs into iTunes is dangerous and will render my new machine totally unstable, and will make any supposed “stability” of Mac OS-X void and not to be expected). I have no installed ANY software of ANY kind in it. ALL I’ve done is play some songs, and import some of them into iTunes, and ALL of these songs have been off of commercially manufactured CD’s.
NOT HAPPY. :mad:
Cartooniverse, Do you supposed the non-supported camera brought the system to its knees? I’ve been using OSX for about 6 months straight, and I have never once crashed the system. However, certain applications have been known to crash, but usually from running OS9 apps in classic mode, or a misbehaving piece of OSX shareware.
Give OSX some time. I’ve been a mac user since the Golf-War-Days, and even I was a little put off by the differences in OSX. But rest assured, it IS a solid OS, and there are much more improvements on the horizon! The GUI is young as of yet, but in time will be improved upon. Do not lose heart. OSX will become more attractive with each passing day…
A few things to remember:
• Force Quit is your friend. Use it when you think an app is not responding correctly (like when your cursor just keeps spinning). Even use it to restart the Finder with your applications still standing. The OS may be rock solid, but some apps seem to be a little flakey.
• Once you get that CD burner, it will open up a whole new world for you. Especially in iTunes. When you pop in a blank CD it will appear in your desktop. Then just drag in what you want to burn (just like a hard drive) and select Burn Disc from the File menu. Easy as pie. It’s even simpler in iTunes. Just burn your play list direct to a CD. Very cool.
• You can go here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ to download iTunes, if you’d like to reinstall it.
• if you want to learn more about iMovie, open up the app, then select iMovie Help from the Help menu. From there you can select all sorts of information on how to use iMovie.
• Check out the benefits of iTools. http://www.apple.com/itools
Apple even puts royalty-free stuff in your iDisk for you to use on projects - like music soundtracks.
• You’re going to LOVE Final Cut Pro. Such an incredible piece of software. Don’t know if you’ve used it before, but it truly makes editing a joy to behold.
I really hope you get the most out of your new mac. Believe me, there IS a lot that can be done with it – even in Mac OSX. There’s a ton of power brewing under that interface, may it one day find you…
Enjoy!
I hang out fairly often at the Mac forums at Ars Technica (a web site for heavy-duty geeks), and you can find lots of folks who haven’t had to reboot their MacOS X systems in months.
It ain’t hype.
Cartoon: Don’t dispair! I remember my first Mac experience. (I’d been a PC for a while, and decided to get my feet wet with a Mac.) I was SO excited about my Mac - I got it on eBay, (an old used PowerMac 6100) and when it finally arrives, it needs a special cable to connect to the monitor! Well, I had to drive downtown to get the cable. And when I plug it in? NOTHING. The damned battery inside the thing had gone kaput. So I had to drag the Mac downtown again, and get THAT fixed. And…then what? I was trying to upgrade the OS (because Macs are so much easier and “forgiving” than PCs, after all) and I get the “sad Mac” - the black screen with the “dead” Mac with the unhappy face. All in a day, this happened! It turned out I’d messed something up, the Mac shop fixed it (software problem) and ever since then, the Mac was a dream.
My second “big” Mac purchase was a used iMac, and it had a problem freezing during boot-up. Turned out it was something mundane like having the Zip drive plugged in during boot up (USB issues). I was very upset - I get this nifty machine, and it’s MESSED UP!!! But, once again, got the troubles ironed out, and it was a very, very stable machine. I just loved it.
I’m now on iMac #2, and it’s also a dream. But - not without problems. I was installing my scanner (which worked great on iMac #1) and it literally - LITERALLY brought the iMac #2 to its knees. (Well, maybe not “literally”, since iMacs don’t have knees.) But I had to reinstall software, the whole thing. It was BAD. BAD BAD BAD. (Note to self: Umax scanner software is a Tool of the Devil.)
All this said, I love my Macs, and don’t turn my PC on all that much. Not that I hate my PC, but my little iMac is so dandy, and it runs Photoshop so well, and - I dunno - it has a special feel to it that I really like. So, hang in there. I have some clue of how you feel, (having had several Mac disappointments as a newbie Mac user). In the end, you’ll love your Mac. They’re dandy.
As far as getting “adjusted” as a PC user to Mac, take your time. It’s an adjustment, but you’ll probably find a lot of things that delight you. You’ll also find things that disappoint you (no right click - I miss that! But then, I got a Wacom tablet, which has a two button mouse, and all is well again). There are still things I miss about my PC, but then again, I still own a PC! I can turn it on anytime I want! I will (eventually) get another PC! Nothing wrong with a little cross-platform harmony.
When I was getting introducted to the Mac, I read “The Macintosh Bible”, and “Macintosh Secrets”. I don’t know if they have a version for OS X yet. To be honest, I don’t work with OS X too much yet, but I know I will make the migration eventually. Just take it easy. Macs are GREAT, but they are just machines. They screw up too. (Not as much as PCs, generally - but they DO screw up!)
Congrats on your TiBook! You’ll work the kinks out. And yeah - the thing about not having restore disks of iTunes, etc., sucks. There has been some discussion about this on the mailing lists I belong to. I think it’s Apple’s way of avoiding bootlegging of these programs. I dunno. I don’t like it either.
I am so glad the general vibe here is positive. Since I was not consulted on this purchase (shared cerebullum indeed!).And I have been preaching the gospel of the mac to you for 9 years or so. I am left only to clean up after all the posters who have gone before. Luckily, they did a very good job and I am left with little to add to the discussion. Other than to say that software titles are quite plentiful for the mac, always have been. This myth has been around for the last 12 years or so. People see no mac software at the local crapusa(I know, it has changed for the better) and assume that it doesn’t exist. The fact is there a something like 30,000 titles for the mac, more than enough in imho, but I have only used 17,456 of them so far so I have a ways to go… Anyway welcome into the fold may your pc be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Love
MOREBARN!!! :wally
Listen here, popcorn, we share a Corpus Callosum , not a cerebellum and DON’T YOU FORGET IT !!! 
While it’s true that you were’t consulted as to the purchase, I knew full well that I was doing it with your blessing, AND- that you were in fact purchasing a NEWER TiBook than mine, roughly 72 hours apart from my purchase. Of course you’ve little to add to the discussion, remember Taliesin, less is more.
On the truth side it must be said that while there may indeed be over 30,000 titles for Macs, you’ve gotta admit that there are only ** eleven ** titles for Mac OS-X and four of them are variations on Tetris !!! So yeah, I’m in on the ground floor of bold new technology but all I can do on it right now is show pictures of the kids to Gramma and play video games. :rolleyes:
Remember, you’ve got the half of the brain that controls rational and logical, so help me out here m’kay? And be nice about it, or I’ll tell Rabbi Mandelbaum ;j
Where’s my Helga???
Okay, Cartooniverse, you had me going for a while, but now I know you’re joking.
After all, there’s almost twenty programs that are MacOS X-native now, not eleven…
CJ would pronbaly be laughing his ass off at a us right now.I can see him shaking his head saying to himself, “white boys” and clucking his tongue. But he was a pc user too, so he might have taken your side. But unless you have something against the good people who pay homage to the greatest waster of time since marijuanna. I would lay off the tetris cracks do you know how hard it was to write that in a gulag? I mean the programmer had to swallow bits of gravel with the source code etched on them. So think of that tough guy the next time you slag off on 2/3 of the availible software for a platform.;j
Oh BTW I a still working on that thing for ya.
Love MoreBarn