Typing from my PB! [Archive] - MacRumors Forums

i4k20c

Sep 23, 2005, 07:41 PM

Hey guys-

I made a thread on this earlier about how i planned to purchase a powerbook. Well here i am typing away and on my lap is a 12inch 1.5ghz superdrive powerbook, i must say this thing rocks! Currently i am just installing some updates, have yet to chcek for dead pixels, only thing i noticed is that i do experiance the rocking back and forth thing a little.. o well! If there are updates withn the next 2 weeks, i may use that to get the new one! hahaha, if not its fine! :) :)

u guys aree gonna hate me for asking this, but ne tips? hahaha, i have to read the stickies again! i forgot most the info..haha

wrxguy

Sep 23, 2005, 07:51 PM

Congratulations my friend!!! i remember my first day on my new PB it was a glorious feeling :D

Bern

Sep 23, 2005, 08:01 PM

It's a great feeling when you get that box, open it up and there nestled inside is a shiny new Powerbook.

The only tip I can offer is max out the ram as much as you can, makes for a very sweet laptop indeed.

i4k20c

Sep 23, 2005, 08:05 PM

Hey guys thanks

Yah, i'm in college and don't have much time to work.. cut the story short, parents bought it for me as a grad/bday present...i love them alot, haha not to sound materalistic, but wow, i've never owned anything so expensive and beatiful! :o

i did have money to buy it on my own, but idk, parents wouldnt except it..so my plan goes... this summer once i get back to my job i will buy apple care as soon as i can.. and next yr b4 going back to school, i'll prob max out the ram! so far 512 seems enough for me as the most i'll ever run is, safari(haha dont have to say ie anymore), itunes, office, adium (haha no more aim)

lol im having fun with these new apps and lingo, i just wanna type on this thing, maybe i'll write a book tonite! :p

briangig

Sep 23, 2005, 08:26 PM

yeah mine rocks back and forth a bit too...it will wear down evenly eventually. tips? get a sleeve. if will keep it looking new and clean when not in use, in a bag, etc. and definetly max the ram out.

i4k20c

Sep 23, 2005, 08:35 PM

tekmoe

Sep 23, 2005, 08:40 PM

i bought my gf the same laptop you have about a month ago. she has dropped it already ( :( ) and gave it a little dent in the front left corner, but it's still functioning exactly how it was before the accident. i think it's a great laptop.

i4k20c

Sep 23, 2005, 10:30 PM

eva01

Sep 23, 2005, 10:34 PM

Chrispy

Sep 23, 2005, 11:10 PM

eva01

Sep 23, 2005, 11:17 PM

Is this just a Tiger thing? I tired doing it in Panther and I got a message that said I could not do it. Just curious.

hmm i used to be able to do that maybe it was under jaguar, because now it doesn't work for me either o_O. (shows how long its been since i had to hide something :P)

well you can use Onyx to show the hidden files then put the images into one of those folders and then hide everything again

i4k20c

Sep 23, 2005, 11:23 PM

wait wait wait..wht r u guys talking about? onyx? what is this.. all i kno is linux is a os.. lol.. so far i got put a "." before the folder name.. :confused: :confused:

eva01

Sep 23, 2005, 11:26 PM

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20070

that can show hidden files for you (which are hidden by that "." infront of the folder name) Then you can throw your images in there and then you can hide the folders again.

There has to be an easier way but that is how i would do it cause i don't hide things ever

Chundles

Sep 23, 2005, 11:43 PM

You could just bury the folder somewhere deep in some heirachy and drag that folder into the Spotlight preference pane so that it won't search that folder.

Chrispy

Sep 23, 2005, 11:46 PM

You could just bury the folder somewhere deep in some heirachy and drag that folder into the Spotlight preference pane so that it won't search that folder.

This is what I do right now haha. I would be sure to have those pics hidden if they are something your g/f would not want others to see ;)

i4k20c

Sep 24, 2005, 12:55 AM

This is what I do right now haha. I would be sure to have those pics hidden if they are something your g/f would not want others to see ;)

Hahaha, i mean imo its not so bad, but she told me if i ever let anyone else see them without her consent, id get it! lol..hahaha better be safe than sorry, jus dont want roomate messin around or som1 to stumble on it..

So if i hide it in some heirachy of folders rite... how do i make it no so that spotlight cant even find it? "Spotlight preference pane" is that an option or prefernace somewhere in spotlight...?

i4k20c

Sep 24, 2005, 01:18 AM

Hahaha, i mean imo its not so bad, but she told me if i ever let anyone else see them without her consent, id get it! lol..hahaha better be safe than sorry, jus dont want roomate messin around or som1 to stumble on it..

So if i hide it in some heirachy of folders rite... how do i make it no so that spotlight cant even find it? "Spotlight preference pane" is that an option or prefernace somewhere in spotlight...?

Still would like clarification on this, but i also got another problem..when i download things VLC player, it seems to instal right on the desktop, when i move it..to the apps folder, it seems like im just makin a shortcut..how can i acutally move this somewhere..and not jus make a shortcut?

Chundles

Sep 24, 2005, 01:20 AM

Hahaha, i mean imo its not so bad, but she told me if i ever let anyone else see them without her consent, id get it! lol..hahaha better be safe than sorry, jus dont want roomate messin around or som1 to stumble on it..

So if i hide it in some heirachy of folders rite... how do i make it no so that spotlight cant even find it? "Spotlight preference pane" is that an option or prefernace somewhere in spotlight...?

Yes, there is a preference for Spotlight to not search a folder, it's in the System Preferences in the Spotlight pane.

And please, full words - this "AIMspeak" must be stopped as it's getting hard to understand what you are asking.

Chundles

Sep 24, 2005, 01:26 AM

Still would like clarification on this, but i also got another problem..when i download things VLC player, it seems to instal right on the desktop, when i move it..to the apps folder, it seems like im just makin a shortcut..how can i acutally move this somewhere..and not jus make a shortcut?

The application icon on a Mac is actually just a kind of folder that contains all the information for that app. This is why we can do drag and drop installs/uninstalls.

When you download a program it normally comes as a .dmg file which is short for Disk Image - in otherwords you're downloading a sort-of pseudo hard drive with the Application loaded inside. On the desktop it normally has the image of a mountable disk and in a Finder window it has an Eject button next to it.

To install a program it is simply a matter of dragging the icon for the application (remember, this is a whole folder) from within the mounted disk image to your Applications folder.

Once you have done this, you can "eject" the disk image and your application will be safe within the Applications folder.

Hope this helps.

i4k20c

Sep 24, 2005, 01:31 AM

Yes, there is a preference for Spotlight to not search a folder, it's in the System Preferences in the Spotlight pane.

And please, full words - this "AIMspeak" must be stopped as it's getting hard to understand what you are asking.

i'm sorry,
thanks for the image it really helped! Sorry a tad bit knew at this, with macs at our school everything was locked up so i never got a chance to mess around and really experiance everything it had to offer... and jus for clarification for my other question.

When i install an application like the VLC player, it shows up rite underneat the icon macontosh HD as VLC0.8.2, well i like to keep my desktop clean so i tried to drag it to the applications folder, but that vlc icon still stayed on the desktop and just a shorcut of some sort was put in the applications folder, so my question is, how do i move the actual vlc install to my applications folder! I don't want to see it in my desktop, i want to re-locate it..

thanks again guys, sorry to be sucha pain! :(

Chundles

Sep 24, 2005, 01:38 AM

i'm sorry,
thanks for the image it really helped! Sorry a tad bit knew at this, with macs at our school everything was locked up so i never got a chance to mess around and really experiance everything it had to offer... and jus for clarification for my other question.

When i install an application like the VLC player, it shows up rite underneat the icon macontosh HD as VLC0.8.2, well i like to keep my desktop clean so i tried to drag it to the applications folder, but that vlc icon still stayed on the desktop and just a shorcut of some sort was put in the applications folder, so my question is, how do i move the actual vlc install to my applications folder! I don't want to see it in my desktop, i want to re-locate it..

thanks again guys, sorry to be sucha pain! :(

Is this what you are seeing?

Cause if it is, double click on this .dmg icon (picture 1) and that will create the disk image (picture 2) and it should open a new finder window displaying the contents of the image. Then just drag the VLC icon (picture 3 you don't need to drag anything else) in that window to your Applications folder et voilá. Your application is installed and you can eject the disk and trash the .dmg file.

powerbook911

Sep 24, 2005, 01:39 AM

Yah idk, gotta get used to the keyboard a little, since i never type on a laptop kb, but i seem to be doing fine! I am loving mac os tho..it's nice, no problems yet! to the ppl that say its slow, idk, maybe its cuz im comming from som1 who has a p3 1ghz computer at home, but recently i been using my roomates toshiba quoismo laptop (hes a nice guy) which is a 2.0 pentium m (or close to 2 i think) and has 1.5gig of ram i belive..and this computer so far seems as fast idk... im happy with it rite now,, and hope it lasts me thru colege!

You'll have your Applecare, if you get it, for three years, so I suspect it will last you through college (Applecare guarantees you the three, and then Macs have pretty good reliability, so the fourth year is usually great too). It is a very nice machine. I love mine! Just take very good care of it, and always respect it. Even once you've owned it a couple years, take care of it.

When you're connected to A/C power, I suggest you change the CPU setting to "highest," for maximum performance. Click the battery icon in the upper right hand corner, and go to "open energy saver," in the drop down. On that page, make sure all details all shown, if they aren't shown, there will be a button that says "show details." From there, click "options," and then under the "processor performance," set "highest." At the top you specify, if you want it that way, when on AC, battery, or both. I'd suggest automatic, or reduced, when on battery. Highest setting, when connected to Power Adapter. I put a screen shot of my settings below.

Overall, enjoy your computer. I love its size, beauty, and performance. Truly, among several notebooks and several desktops, it is the best computer I've ever owned.

My Yute

Sep 24, 2005, 02:25 AM

you can make it a hidden file by putting a "." in front of the folder you keep the pictures in. Then to go and find the folder you either have to use a 3rd party program or if you know UNIX or the folder location you can either type it into Terminal or into "command + shift + G" in finder and then typing in the location.

THis got me thinking. Although finder doesn't allow you to put a "." in front of the file name, unix should. So open up a terminal window, and then rename the directory by using the command mv [old directory] .hidden. That will rename the directory you want to .hidden. THen as said before, cmd + shift + g to type in the location and find it again.

beatle888

Sep 24, 2005, 02:30 AM

Hahaha, i mean imo its not so bad, but she told me if i ever let anyone else see them without her consent, id get it! lol..hahaha better be safe than sorry, jus dont want roomate messin around or som1 to stumble on it..

So if i hide it in some heirachy of folders rite... how do i make it no so that spotlight cant even find it? "Spotlight preference pane" is that an option or prefernace somewhere in spotlight...?

just let me see the pictures so i can tell you what would be the best way to hide them.

i4k20c

Sep 24, 2005, 02:59 PM

again guys thanks! I realize now how even instalation on macs and sch is a different... i really had no idea these are how diff they are, but idk, im likeing this mac os alot! I'll admit, not one of those ppl who can now say i hate windows or nethng, but im really liking apple at this point..loL!

new question: I'm trying to download windows media player for mac, and when i download the .bin file and shows up on the desktop as a .sixt file, and my pb can't open it with anything it says..am i doin something wrng here? :confused: :confused: (btw, i also tried d/l the .htm file or w.e. as well and same results, shows up as .sitx)

devilot

Sep 24, 2005, 03:03 PM

You need Stuffit (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/12012).

crazydreaming

Sep 24, 2005, 05:36 PM

My advice after having a new 15" Powerbook for just over a month.

1) Watch where you set your PB. I don't know how I got this, but there are these big scratches on the bottom of my Powerbook...

2) Get a case if you don't already have one

3) Buy Ram (I know I know, already mentioned, but I put in a 1GB stick, and it's like a whole new computer, really amazing).

4) Watch for Keyboard imprints on the screen. I just bought a Radtech Screensavrz because I am having this problem. I will also use it for some cleaning.

5) Take it everywhere and enjoy!

Powerbooks are the most advanced portables.

ckeck

Sep 24, 2005, 07:25 PM

i4k20c

Sep 24, 2005, 07:59 PM

You need Stuffit (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/12012).

huh? will this enable me to download windows media player?
:confused: :confused:

as far as the radatach thing goes, rite now i'm just using that little cover that came with the keyboard, i will order one from radatch once i get back to school and c if we're allowed delivers like that! I already got a nice incase bag/sleeve..jus big enug for my powerbook..

this is the case i got.. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71202/wo/lS1fvC81H82Q3bovezo1kDoQcP1/1.0.0.15.1.0.6.9.9.17.0.1.3.1.1.2.1.0.3

i realy want the radact kb cover but i want one that says powerbook! idk why i like it more.. sux that they show it but dont have it! :(

if som1 can stil give me help on the windows media player problem (1st page, last post) id appreciate it!

i4k20c

Sep 24, 2005, 08:02 PM

hahaha i get it, i need to d/l stuffit, im downloading it now, so hopefly it will work, i think its stuid that u need to download some other program tho to download windows media player... but w.e.

Chundles

Sep 24, 2005, 08:08 PM

hahaha i get it, i need to d/l stuffit, im downloading it now, so hopefly it will work, i think its stuid that u need to download some other program tho to download windows media player... but w.e.

It's stupid of Microsoft to still have WMP as a .sitx file instead of a .zip file.

Stuffit is an older archiving program (like WinZip) that allowed Mac users to create zipped files to send over the internet. Since Apple have been building zip support into the OS, Stuffit is not as widely needed and since 10.4 has not been included with the OS.

Stuffit is a very handy program to have because a number of firms still use the .sit file for downloading although it is getting smaller and smaller. Microsoft use it so you need the program.

gekko513

Sep 24, 2005, 08:19 PM

lol first question..

neway to hide pics on this comp? i have some files n i kno the gf wouldnt like it if som1 else found em... ;)

and im wondering if u can hide pics or w.e.. like u can in winodws?
It would be better to put them in a password protected disk image. That way noone can find them just by looking for hidden folders.

Create a new disk image with Disk Utility and select AES for encryption.

cza82

Sep 24, 2005, 09:30 PM

I'm new to this operating system as well and i has some of the same problems you did i4k20c. Stuffit is the mac equivelent to .rar archiver in windows. It will decompress archived files so you can access them. So you need stuffit to decompress the file microsoft sent you so you can install WMA. Chundles did a great job at explaining the installation of apps from the .dmg files. I wish i woulda asked I had tio figure it all out on my own :( Mac os is great though, much more complete then any windows os and much more intuitive than any Linux distro. Enjoy

tangerineyum

Sep 24, 2005, 10:29 PM

almost sprang for a new PB but.... this is me typing from my brand new ibook ! 14" Went and bought it this morning and got a new ipod with student promotion. Hooray ! And yes listen to everyones advice and get some more ram, i will be getting a gig from crucial this monday.

ThatSoundAgain

Sep 24, 2005, 11:00 PM

It would be better to put them in a password protected disk image. That way noone can find them just by looking for hidden folders.

Create a new disk image with Disk Utility and select AES for encryption.

I was about to say this. Best way to keep stuff private.

The disk utility is in applications/utilities. Just click 'new image', select a size big enough to contain your files, select encryption, name the file and give it a password. Drag your files to the new disk image, and afterwards delete the old ones (default action is to copy when you're dragging across disks).

Then make sure you remember the password! It's the only way to get to the files later.

KittenKrusher

Sep 24, 2005, 11:19 PM

Can't wait till I get my new powerbook now, lol.

FFTT

Sep 24, 2005, 11:49 PM

I just set my screensaver setting to require the administrator's password.

Drives my kids crazy! :D

nagromme

Sep 25, 2005, 12:45 AM

Congrats.

My next laptop will be a 12" PB... or preferably smaller!

i4k20c

Sep 26, 2005, 01:00 AM

hahaha glad i can help others out too.. i feel more usefull this way!
:p

I started to put files from my windows to my pb (which was a breeze thanks to macrumors!) and rite now i just have alot of folders on the desktop, since i want it to get organized and i have 2 questions..

1. If i have 50 pics and i want to rename them LV 1, LV 2, and so on, i kno you can use automator to do this right? I tried to figure it out myself and see if i can how to on apples website, but it didn't really help me, so could anyone plz tell me how to do that? :o

2. When i click view>clean up on my desktop so all those folders are on a grid, not all messy, everything on the most right-side of the screen seems to almost be getting cut off by a quarter. I can't see the whole name or folder, jus 3/4ths of it, is there something i need to mess with, or anyway i can move my screen over..lol?

the rockin thing is kiling me..lol! i hate how it rocks back and forth and not sure how to fix it..has anyone sucesfully fixed it?

Thanks guys! :)

nimboopaani

Sep 26, 2005, 02:04 AM

Here's a finder plug-in that should help you rename files sequentially in a jiffy.

In automator,
-- Get specified Finder items
-- Rename Finder items. Also, tick the "Show When Action is Run" box.

Save this as a Finder plug-in. Now, every time you have to rename a bunch of files. Just select the files you want to rename, right click, then click on the plug-in you just created (its in the Automator menu) and voila.

btw- my first post. Hope its helpful.

Cheers,
Yogi

hahaha glad i can help others out too.. i feel more usefull this way!
:p

I started to put files from my windows to my pb (which was a breeze thanks to macrumors!) and rite now i just have alot of folders on the desktop, since i want it to get organized and i have 2 questions..

1. If i have 50 pics and i want to rename them LV 1, LV 2, and so on, i kno you can use automator to do this right? I tried to figure it out myself and see if i can how to on apples website, but it didn't really help me, so could anyone plz tell me how to do that? :o

2. When i click view>clean up on my desktop so all those folders are on a grid, not all messy, everything on the most right-side of the screen seems to almost be getting cut off by a quarter. I can't see the whole name or folder, jus 3/4ths of it, is there something i need to mess with, or anyway i can move my screen over..lol?

the rockin thing is kiling me..lol! i hate how it rocks back and forth and not sure how to fix it..has anyone sucesfully fixed it?

Thanks guys! :)