iBook Newbie, Some Questions.

1. Just use it. Check for dead pixels if you want to but I don't recommend it since ignorance is pretty bliss (does that make my 'tar ignorant?).

2. Calibrate the battery every few weeks. That's about it for me.

3. Haven't bothered. They have a multitude of functions, none of which I deem necessary for me.

4. Only reset the PRAM if you're told to on these forums because something has gone wrong. You shouldn't need to be doing it regularly. I've never done it on my iBook nor my iMac.

5. Repair permissions after being asked for a password by an app or installer if you're feeling keen. If there's a small problem with your Mac, repair permissions and it sometimes fixes the problem.

6. The early morning scripts are called maintenance scripts and although I'm not fully sure what they do, I know you can run them manually through Terminal or with a program like Onyx. You won't notice any major change to your computing experience while they run at 3:00AM (or whenever) assuming you are using the Mac and it is not asleep. They run in the background.

7. Sorry, I change all my icons manually (which is free).

I hope this helps a little. Congratulations on the iBook, they're the l33test!

If I may ask, when did you order your iBook?

did you pay standard shipping?

mad jew said:

Sorry, I change all my icons manually (which is free).

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I have changed some of my icons manually.
How do I change them back to factory icons?

Lucky8 said:

I have changed some of my icons manually.
How do I change them back to factory icons?

Click to expand...

i hate it when i do that. on my old powerbook, I screwed up all my folders, and replaced them with my cheap photoshop ones. got sick of them in 20 minutes. i don't know what there is to do about that.

for #7, use candybar

About once a year, I backup all my data and reinstall the os and everything. it keeps it snappy and is a good way to clear everything up.

virus1 said:

i hate it when i do that. on my old powerbook, I screwed up all my folders, and replaced them with my cheap photoshop ones. got sick of them in 20 minutes. i don't know what there is to do about that.

for #7, use candybar

About once a year, I backup all my data and reinstall the os and everything. it keeps it snappy and is a good way to clear everything up.

Click to expand...

Just bring up the "get info" window for the icon you don't like anymore, ie, control-click on the icon and then click "get info." Then click on the icon at the top so that a blue halo surrounds it and press delete.

Goes back to the factory settings like "pow!"

Yeah just use the damn thing. All of this high-tech stuff only comes of use if you run into problems. That and enjoy your new machine...they last suprisingly long!

1. Upon getting your iBook:
- be awed by the awesome packaging design of Apple.
- Get that iBook out and start using it (plugged in with battery)
- When the battery is charged, calibrate it:
* Run the battery down until it goes to sleep
* Plug in the adaptor and recharge the battery to 100%

2. The only routine I have is to discharge and recharge the battery completely once a month. I just go through all the other things whenever I feel like it. I also leave my computer on so it can do automated tasks in the crontab at night.

3. I do, I recommend MainMenu. Nice and hidden in the menu bar.

4. Reset PRAM when you have problems that can't be solved through permissions repair. That being said, haven't had to use it yet.

5. Permissions control who can access what. Repairing them makes sure only the proper people can access things like system binaries. That being said, it's not necessary to do it that often. Once a month is fine for me.

6. The built-in maintenance keeps log files clean and such. You won't notice anything really, maybe higher processor usage if doing something intensive.

7. Change icons for free:
- Highlight object with desired icon; Press Command - I
- Highlight the icon with a click; Press Command - C to copy
- Highlight object whose icon you want to change; Press command - I
- Highlight the icon you want to change; Press Command-V to change
This works for most things. It's really simpler to do than it is to explain.

Use Candybar for system-level icons. Forget if you have to pay for it though ... I got over changing system icons rather quickly.

Really, system maintenance is optional. Nothing too bad happens if you forget about it. Mac OS X takes care of itself pretty well. It does things like automatically defragment all files 40 MB or smaller, move more used files to the front of the disk (for faster access), cleans its own logs every night if you leave your computer on ... now if only it could do permissions repair by itself. I haven't had to turn my iBook off since I've gotten it. Just put it to sleep when I'm not using it, reboot on update, and it's been fine.

Have fun with your new computer!

A good program is 'icon compo' or 'icompo', (one of them is right ). It can change colours of a folder, and put a picture on it, change sizes of the picture and transperancies. It's shareware I think..

The_Man said:

I got my iBook and i have a few questions.

It makes a fairly loud whirring noise when I start it up or wake it up from sleep. Also, how do I connect to my internet. it is not wireless and I plugged it in, I just can't find how i can select or connect to it. One more thing, how do I bring up activity monitor?

thanks

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I'll take the easy one. Activity Monitor lives in /Applications/Utilities. You can open it from there.

Also, don't worry about the whirring noise. It's just the optical disk drive spinning up.

The_Man said:

I got my iBook and i have a few questions.

It makes a fairly loud whirring noise when I start it up or wake it up from sleep. Also, how do I connect to my internet. it is not wireless and I plugged it in, I just can't find how i can select or connect to it. One more thing, how do I bring up activity monitor?


Edit: Also, I charged my iBooks with the screen closed, and the charging status light on the charger only wen green when I opened up the iBook. Is this normal?

thanks

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Are you using dial-up or broadband?

If it's dial-up, then internet connect is inside your applications folder.

If it's broadband from a router that is set to assign IP addresses via DHCP (it should be, most of them do this as default) then you should be already connected to the net, your iBook will sense all the info and connect you straight away.

If it's broadband straight from a modem that is already set up to connect to the internet then see the above advice, if you haven't configured the modem then do it through safari following hte instructions provided by your ISP.

On the charging light issue, it will go green when it is charged although I have noticed that sometimes it takes a little "nudge" to do it, as long as your battery monitor is right I wouldn't worry about it.

If you have a disc in the drive then that would explain the whirring noise.

mad jew said:

7. Sorry, I change all my icons manually (which is free).

Click to expand...

I've been wanting to know how to do that myself! Thought I could just drag and drop icons into the get info panel, but can't! I've managed to do it though finally! It's a shame it won't show .png files etc, only icon files. I have some real nice "icon" images in .png format. Here comes another play with GraphicConverter!

Also, I've seen that some people have got different icons up on the top menu bar (where the wireless, bluetooth, volume, spotlight, battery indicators are etc) some other strange icons and things to go along with the system default ones, such as iCal etc, how does one get those?

The_Man said:

I got on my iBook and noticed there is an available wireless internet (I dont have wireless). So i join it and i find out that it is my neighbors. Will he be able to see that I am using the wireless network and how do I avoid joining it automatically?

Thanks

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If they are a guy that monitors there network and keeps an eye out on there router then yes they will know. The router will give a list of all attached devices. Pretty bad for them not to at least put MAC address filtering on, if not encryption. Be careful they don't find out! Legality n all!

To stop joining it automatically go into system preferences>network>Airport and change the "By default, join" drop down box so it is not automatic, that should do it. Not sure if anyone else has any better ways!

Some guy has a Belkin router near me and my iBook keeps connecting to that and not my network (that is encripted etc.) tis quite annoying. but oh well.

The_Man said:

I got my wired internet working by calling comcast. they told me to unplug the modem turn off my computer then plug the modem back in, then turn on my computer. This actually worked.

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It solves alot of internet problems, solves alot of mine on teh PC.