Help with Mini Mac that i have just won..... !

[Kyle]

I have just had delivered a Mini Mac that i won in a local newspaper competition. I know F*c* all about MAc's and have only ever seen a friend use his laptop a few times. I would really like to use it as a second pc in my house, for parents to use etc.

Can i just buy any USB wiress adapter to work in the Mac as i want to connect to my wireless network(the apple ones are espensive)

Do Mac and XP work well on a wireless network?

Can you remote a Mac form Xp (ie like remote desktop)

Other help and advice appreciated.

Mini Mac Spec(its the lowest one i believe)

1.25GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth optional
56k Internal Modem included

[GrumbleDook]

If you don't want it I'll have it :-D

I know D-Link have some 802.11b adapters ... but there should be some 802.11g adapters out there.

Go to Mac reseller websites like macwarehouse.co.uk or jigsaw24.com and search for usb wireless ....

Or you could get an Airport Express as another option?

Yep, they can both work fine on a wireless network, it is best if they connect to a wireless access point or wireless router rather than a PC doing internet connection sharing via wireless.

To remotely use the machine then run osxvnc on it ...

HTH

[Dos_Box]

I have just had delivered a Mini Mac that i won in a local newspaper competition. I know F*c* all about MAc's and have only ever seen a friend use his laptop a few times. I would really like to use it as a second pc in my house, for parents to use etc.

Can i just buy any USB wiress adapter to work in the Mac as i want to connect to my wireless network(the apple ones are espensive)

Do Mac and XP work well on a wireless network?

Can you remote a Mac form Xp (ie like remote desktop)

Other help and advice appreciated.

Mini Mac Spec(its the lowest one i believe)

1.25GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth optional
56k Internal Modem included

I hate you

[E1uSiV3]

Do Mac and XP work well on a wireless network?

What do you mean? IF you mean "will they both work at the same time without interfering with each other" then yes, it doesnt matter what OS they run or what hardware it is, its all TCP/IP.

Can you remote a Mac form Xp (ie like remote desktop)

Well its a BSD based OS and X11 is an optional install, im not 100% sure (im no nix/BSD guru by any stretch of the imagination) how you would go about having a remote X11 session on a mac or wether you can do it with aqua at all. If you wanted terminal access, it could be achieved using SSH and a windows client like PuTTy.

If you are more of a linux man, why not install gentoo? im sure Goeff will be able to help you out, as he is the resident "all things gentoo/nix" man here.

[Kyle]

Thanks for the help Guys

Found this excellent site A mini-guide to Mac OS X for new Mini owners

As well as a Remote Desktop Connection Client 1.0.3 for Mac OS X

Also found this which i thought woul dbe useful as well Virtual PC for Mac

[GrumbleDook]

Virtual PC ... veeeeerrry slllloooowwww.

Ok ... imagine your guest OS is running on a 1GHz Celeron and give it whatever the appropriate memory you can spare.. I go for windows XP Pro with all the bells and whistles turned off ... and it is usable.

RDC will allow you to use the mac to connect to a windows box (as long as it has remote desktop enabled) but not the other way round.

If you have not had a good play with OSX before I would suggest you try and get a few copies of iCreate from your local newsagents (or a bigger one if your local shop is only "for local people") They also do some very good compilation books to get you going.

Once you are into it thenI would even suggest that the tutorials you get with a .Mac account are worth the money on their own.

[crc-ict]

If you're having trouble getting to grips with Mac OS X, when I got my mini (as a complete Mac newbie) I was given a copy of Mac OS X Tiger - The Missing Manual which is a pretty good book. Explains most things quite clearly, even has a bit on how to use the iLife applications (but didn't help me figure out why iSync can't see my Sony Ericsson K750i )

All in all, its a good intro to the ways of Mac

[kingswood]

If you're having trouble getting to grips with Mac OS X, when I got my mini (as a complete Mac newbie) I was given a copy of Mac OS X Tiger - The Missing Manual which is a pretty good book. Explains most things quite clearly, even has a bit on how to use the iLife applications (but didn't help me figure out why iSync can't see my Sony Ericsson K750i )

All in all, its a good intro to the ways of Mac

That's a fantastic book! Much recommended.

I also like the Peachpit Press series on iLife and Pro applications- very good. Ach- I like books period. There. I said it. :-)

[Dos_Box]

If you're having trouble getting to grips with Mac OS X, when I got my mini (as a complete Mac newbie) I was given a copy of Mac OS X Tiger - The Missing Manual which is a pretty good book. Explains most things quite clearly, even has a bit on how to use the iLife applications (but didn't help me figure out why iSync can't see my Sony Ericsson K750i )

All in all, its a good intro to the ways of Mac

That's a fantastic book! Much recommended.

I also like the Peachpit Press series on iLife and Pro applications- very good. Ach- I like books period. There. I said it. :-)

My copy for work just arrived today!

[GrumbleDook]

If you're having trouble getting to grips with Mac OS X, when I got my mini (as a complete Mac newbie) I was given a copy of Mac OS X Tiger - The Missing Manual which is a pretty good book. Explains most things quite clearly, even has a bit on how to use the iLife applications (but didn't help me figure out why iSync can't see my Sony Ericsson K750i )

All in all, its a good intro to the ways of Mac

Download the latest iSync and reinstall.

Fixed it for me and also fixed problems with Palm syncing too.

[kingswood]

I have to buy extra software to sync my pocket pc. Damn MS. Damn Apple. Damn Linux. Damn them all.

Feeling better now.

But Tony is right- the newer iSync will help. I had the same problem with me Sony Eric.

:-)