Cheap Macintosh recommendations anyone?

[Michelle Widell]

Ok.. I'm taking the Mac user's recommendation and buying a Mac Mini... (Thanks Scott for the offer)



I may buy an old G3 from a local used computer shop just to play with repairing one. They don't want much for it, and that way I wouldn't be messing with my kid's computer.



Any recommendations for sites with "free" software she can use on it would be appreciated. She's 10.



Hmm.. Linux, Mac, Windows.. is there anything else I can play with? I got ubuntu installed on an old desktop last night and had my first experience in attempting to get something to work when i installed a Linksys USB wireless adapter. I found instructions on a web site on how to do it, using the terminal. I wasn't paying attention and used the wrong terminal (root terminal? system terminal?) and now I have two locked folders on the desktop. Duh. O well, that's how yah learn. I spent about 10 mins googling ways to fix my mistake, but I think I'll just reinstall ubuntu.



Thanks baron for the other linux recommendation - ubuntu does look pretty ugly. I have a 4 port kvm switch, maybe ill hookup another old p3 and install pclinuxos on it.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I am a fan of RedHat's Linux....and for free Linux software go to www.sourceforge.net, though much of what is there isn't true application-ware (some libraries, etc), it's still a great site to poke around at, especially if a coder.



TJR

 

[scott r]

There are tons of sites out there that offer free software for Macs...some legal, some not quite so legal. hehe

Versiontracker is a great one, probably the best.

Another good one is macupdate

There are quite a few files on apple's Mac OS X site as well, those would be your more well-known applications though. Some are free, some aren't.

I suppose you could always give BSD a try too, FREEBSD is actually quite useable. Then there's amiga, DOS, SkyOS, Solaris (and/or open solaris) and literally THOUSANDS of different variations of linux. distrowatch.com is a great place to read about new linux distros.

macsurfer has a lot of computer/mac news and information.

There's a whole new community out there when you jump to the mac side. So far, almost everyone I've met is extremely nice and willing to help.

By the way, the Mac Mini is a GREAT choice. I love 'em. I really don't think you can go wrong with a Mac Mini as your first mac, they really don't get much simpler than that.



The terminal...you don't like it Michelle?!? haha

By the way, you can UNlock those directories on your desktop by "su" to root, then "chown" them to make them owned by your normal user. The terminal takes a bit to get used to, but you can REALLY get a lot done via the terminal once you learn what you're doing. The window manager is more of a menace to me, I waste a LOT of time when I'm not on the command line. Most people hate it though. I just find it more efficient.

Anyway, good luck w/your Mac Mini when you get it. Better be careful...once you go Mac, you never go back.

 

[Michelle Widell]

It's funny.. When it comes to programming something like a Cisco router or PIX, I do it all command line. I had a client ask me once to show him how to program a PIX (firewall) using the web utility, and I had to spend 10 minutes in the closet by myself with my laptop to figure out how to use it.



Cisco uses a form of linux/unix/whatever when you are doing stuff like copying IOS and stuff...



There's a local Mac user group that meets once a month. I may join that...



Thanks to letting me know how to change the permissions on those folders. I really wanted to figure it out rather than reinstalling the OS.

 

[scott r]

no problem. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions, I might not always see them in the forums, I don't usually read all of 'em.

The local MUGs (Mac User Groups) are usually filled with great people who have a wealth of knowledge. Generally, if you have a problem, you can find the answers at apple's support forum, you can access it from their website. The people there are quite helpful as well.

I use SSH/SCP a LOT whenever transferring files either over the internet or over my local network. It's so much faster to me than using the GUI.

You'll have to let me know what your initial impressions are whenever you get your Mac Mini. So far, I haven't heard a single ill word about them. It's always nice to see someone switch over from the dark side too.

 

[Michelle Widell]

Well, here I am surfing the web on the Mac Mini. It sure is slick looking!



Off to download some stuff for my daughter...

 

[scott r]

Yeah, the MacMinis suuuure are nice.

They just don't quite have enough computing power for me. I'm still drooling over today's dual-cpu dual-core powermacs. That's the equivalent of FOUR PPC processors in a single machine. I have a dual-core dual-cpu opteron machine, but it's nowhere near as powerful as my powermac in pure number crunching ability. I'm sure you're going to love that MacMini though, they're great computers and they look great sitting on your coffee table or pretty much anywhere else you put 'em...how many x86 boxes can you say THAT about?