[muglo] Re: tutorial
- From: "Eric D" <hideme666@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: muglo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:55:58 -0500
>I think I have a slower G4 (400MHz?), Eric. Forgotten where to look. As for
Go to Apple menu, Apple System Profiler.
>why upgrading its a comibation of A - people telling me - and C - wondering
>if I need to. My old Mac is 8.2 or something like that and, while I don't
>use it for much more than word processing and e-mail, I realize the "world"
>is passing it by.
Why do you _need_ to upgrade (reason c)?
> I'm wondering if the best thing to do for by G4 is to just do as you
>suggest and boost the RAM to 512 since, even through I don't have photoshop
>or its ilk, it could be in my future since I've purchased a digital camera.
>jim
1. Software:
GraphicConverter (shareware; 40 USD)
PhotoSlop (a wonderful app) would be absolute overkill in your situation. GC
is a wonderful app that does a whole slew of image manipulation functions
(cropping, resolution changes, format changes, slide shows, slide shows of
your videos (I've strung together some interesting clips without having to
resort to iMovie), etc.).
GIMP 2.0 (licence free software (as in open source software (OSS)); also
free as in $0 cost):
The GIMP 2.0 is getting rave reviews at versiontracker
(<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22990>) but is an
X-Windows based app (i.e. Mac OS X-only) and will most likely have a very
funny interface (it's right-click driven in GNU/Linux so I imagine the same
will be true in OS X). I've used version 1.1 in GNU/Linux and was impressed
by its UI speed and the wide array of features, filters, etc. included FOR
FREE. As a PhotoShop user I found it quite easy to use (YMMV but i think it
may be easier for beginners to pick up than PhotoShop). I recently fired up
version 2 on Linux and it looks much improved over 1.1 (GIMP = GNU Image
Manipulation Program).
Hardware & OS:
Since you bought a digi-cam I actually forsee a number of upgrades in your
not-so-distant future (in order of priority):
1. OS X. With OS X you get:
- iPhoto. Although it's lacking IMNSHO, it still functions as a half-decent
photo album and allows you to keep your photos together in one convenient
location.
- iMovie. Turn your photos in slide shows that you can burn to CD and send
to anyone (iMovie allows that, doesn't it?... I've never done it so I'm
guessing), or, take the videos you take with your digicam and turn them into
crude home Video CDs or DVDs.
2. (if you don't already have one) CD- or DVD-burner. You can use a CD or
DVD burner to back-up your photo collection, create slide shows with iMovie,
or even burn full fledged videos (playable in most home DVD players) onto CD
or DVD.
CD-RW drives (fully Mac OS bootable and Mac OS burning supported) can be had
for $40. It takes no skill whatsoever to replace the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM in
your G4 tower with a new drive (5 minutes and one or two screwdrivers). You
can also get DVD ROM/CD-RWs for cheap and DVD-RW/CD-RWs have come down in
price significantly over the past year or two (beware of competing DVD media
formats though for DVD burners -- they are NOT interchangeable).
3. (optional) An extra 120 GB HD. HD space is CHEAP nowadays. You can get a
120 GB drive for <$110 AFTER tax (a month ago I paid $100 for an 80 GB
drive). If you're willing to scrimp a little you can get yourself a 40 GB
for $70 or an 80 GB drive for $85 AFTER tax
(<http://www.canadacomputers.com/storage.html#hdd>). I believe they do
shipping... otherwise, you should find that prices in London are comparable.
Pricing:
1. 256 MB (to bring you to 384) $40
2. CD-RW $30-40 internal ($70 USB 2)
3. Mac OS X ~$80 for CDs, $60 for DVDs
(<http://search-completed.ebay.ca/mac-os-x-10-3_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR10QQpriceZ1QQsacategoryZQ2d1QQsapricehiZ89QQsapriceloZ30QQsatitleZmacQ20osQ20xQ2010Q2e3QQsoitemstatusZ2QQsorecordsperpageZ50QQsorecordstoskipZ0QQsosortorderZ2QQsosortpropertyZ3>)
Grand total
incl. CD-RW ~$160,
excl. CD-RW ~$120.
CAVEAT EMPTOR: I would upgrade piece-meal (sp?). First install Mac OS X!
Make sure it runs smoothly (128 MB is fine for that) and upgrades properly
via the web (to 10.3.6). Ensure that "Classic" loads properly and that your
favourite apps run.
Then, install the RAM. Make sure it runs (you'll know very quickly if it
it's incompatible with OS X).
Finally (if desired), install the CD-RW. Make sure it burns _and_ boots your
computer (check with XLR8YourMac's drive database;
<http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/drivedb/search.drivedb.lasso>).
[One of the biggest mistake people make during upgrades is to do everything
at once. _If_ something doesn't work troubleshooting becomes a lot more
difficult because you made a whole lot of changes concurrently, rather than
consecutively (alternately, you could pay someone else to do this but this
is a project that's simple enough that most people can do themselves, and,
besides, these are trouble-shooting skills that any computer user should
have).]
At that point you'll have a brand-spanking new system that is SOOOO stable
(I can't remember the last time my OS X 10.3 crashed... probably this
spring, perhaps even in the winter) and fast (especially web browsing)
you'll soon forget what the three finger salute is and what waiting was.
Plus, you won't have to give up any of your old softwares and you'll get a
whole slew of new ones (web browsers, free software, (free) science
software, etc)!
And, if you ever really want to give yourself a speed boost, just replace
the 400 MHz CPU in your tower with something a little zippier (e.g. $400 for
1 GHz).
Eric.
_________________________________________________
For information concerning the MUGLO List just click on
http://muglo.on.ca/Pages/joinus.html
Our Archives can be viewed at
//www.freelists.org/archives/muglo
Don't forget to periodically check our web site at:
http://muglo.on.ca/
Other related posts:
