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Some Newbie Questions

cleanup

cleanup

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Hi. Just received my iMac G5 yesterday. I love this thing. I'm never going back to Windows.

Still got some questions (perhaps obvious ones)... I hope you guys can help me out. 🙂

1. How do I manage file associations? I know I can use Open With, but it's annoying. I have .jpegs that open in Preview but .jpgs open in Photoshop. .ai files open in Preview by default for some reason, and not illustrator. .HTML files open in Dreamweaver instead of Safari... how can I manage this?

2. During sleep, are processes still running? Say I'm transferring or downloading large files or performing some process that takes a long time... will the computer automatically sleep even if that process is running, and will the process stop?

3. Is there any way to stop having to type in my password every time I install something?

4. Thanks. 😀
 
1. for the file type you want to change, select the file in question, choose Get Info from the File Menu, and change the "open with" setting. You can click on the button there to change for all such files.

2. I don't think it's going to go to sleep automatically while copying a file. It might dim the screen, but it won't completely go to sleep. For all practical purposes, sleep is "off," and it just enables you to start up without going through the entire reboot process. Most people don't bother shutting down at all, just use sleep.

3. Don't know, but you really don't want to do this. This is a major reason why Macs still don't have spyware. It can be a pain sometimes, but it's worth the security.

4. I don't understand this question. Perhaps someone else here will be able to help you 😉
 
cleanup said:
Hi. Just received my iMac G5 yesterday. I love this thing. I'm never going back to Windows.

Still got some questions (perhaps obvious ones)... I hope you guys can help me out. 🙂

1. How do I manage file associations? I know I can use Open With, but it's annoying. I have .jpegs that open in Preview but .jpgs open in Photoshop. .ai files open in Preview by default for some reason, and not illustrator. .HTML files open in Dreamweaver instead of Safari... how can I manage this?

2. During sleep, are processes still running? Say I'm transferring or downloading large files or performing some process that takes a long time... will the computer automatically sleep even if that process is running, and will the process stop?

3. Is there any way to stop having to type in my password every time I install something?

4. Thanks. 😀
Click to expand...

1. In the Get Info window where you select an app which will open selected file/s, there's a button "apply to all of this type". The spelling may be different, I dont remember correctly as I dont use it

2. No. During sleep, only RAM and (?) FireWire port are powered, so no processes are available

3. No. This is a protection system. It will protect your iMac from unwanted self-installing software.

4. Your welcome! 🙂
 
Hi! Thanks for the quick reply. 🙂

I changed most of my messed up file associations, but on the file that I change and then use "click all" on, only that file's icon changes. All the others stay the same as they were before. Thus, .avi files changed to VLC still have QuickTime icons, and .PSD files changed to Photoshop still have Preview icons...

How can this be fixed? Restart? Log out?

[Edit] Never mind! I remembered how fast OSX is, and I just logged in and back out. 😛 Problem solved.

Thanks for all the help!
 
cleanup said:
Hi! Thanks for the quick reply. 🙂

I changed most of my messed up file associations, but on the file that I change and then use "click all" on, only that file's icon changes. All the others stay the same as they were before. Thus, .avi files changed to VLC still have QuickTime icons, and .PSD files changed to Photoshop still have Preview icons...

How can this be fixed? Restart? Log out?

[Edit] Never mind! I remembered how fast OSX is, and I just logged in and back out. 😛 Problem solved.

Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...

I recommend placing most used apps in the Dock and then if you need to open a file or a group of files with specific app, just select them and drag over app's icon in the Dock. I use it all the time! 🙂

No problem!
 
i've noticed the same thing in iphoto but not really in preview 😕 it is even clearer when it zooms, then when it gets to its final "resting place" it blurs a bit again. strange.
 
Yeah, in iPhoto, the picture has some anti-aliasing going on and its suppose to make the picture a little more pleasing to the eye and not all jagged and sharp. Many people just see it as blurrier.
 
Correction...

eXan said:
2. No. During sleep, only RAM and (?) FireWire port are powered, so no processes are available
Click to expand...

During sleep, only the ram stays available. For instance, you can't charge an iPod while the computer is asleep.
 
appleretailguy said:
During sleep, only the ram stays available. For instance, you can't charge an iPod while the computer is asleep.
Click to expand...

My iPod charges on FireWire just fine while my PowerBook is asleep. That's how I usually charge my iPod.

As for the original posters questions,

1. You've already heard one way to do it, another way to do it is to select the file, then hold down the option key while opening the Finder's file menu. This will change the "Open With" menu option to "Always Open With" which will set the default application for that file. It only works on one file at a time, but I find it useful nonetheless. As another poster said, it's handy to be able to drag files that you want to open in an application other than their default by dragging them to the dock icon of the program you want to use.

2. Nothing runs during sleep, however I've found that for the most part, OS X is very good at making sleep transparent. That is, any process that are running when you put it to sleep pick up right where they left off when you wake it back up. There are exceptions of course, but for the most part it works very well.

3. There may be a way to do this, but it's not a good idea. It's one of the many things that makes OS X better than Windows. On Windows, programs can install without your permission, which leads to a lot of the trouble with viruses. OS X closes this hole by requiring your knowledge and permission to install things.

4. You're welcome, and feel free to ask any other questions you might have. I remember when I switched last year that there were times when I got a little frustrated because I couldn't figure out how to do something that I knew how to do in Windows. These forums taught me a lot, and now I have the same problem when using Windows because so many things are easier in OS X.
 
appleretailguy said:
During sleep, only the ram stays available. For instance, you can't charge an iPod while the computer is asleep.
Click to expand...

That was only in old machines (like mine). Now I belive all Macs are capable of recharging iPod over FW while sleeping.
 
eXan said:
That was only in old machines (like mine). Now I belive all Macs are capable of recharging iPod over FW while sleeping.
Click to expand...
😕 Maybe I should go back home and check, the last time I tried charging my iPod via FW on my sleeping PB, it didn't work.
 
cleanup said:
2. During sleep, are processes still running? Say I'm transferring or downloading large files or performing some process that takes a long time... will the computer automatically sleep even if that process is running, and will the process stop?
Click to expand...

I don't generally put our Macs to sleep. Instead, in the Energy Savings control panel I have them automatically turn the screen off after 15 minutes of inactivity and put hard disks to sleep when possible. This saves energy and lowers heat but also lets the OS do maintenance work at night as well as automated backup each night.

Modern computers use very little power in this low energy mode and even better is iBooks and PowerBooks which use barely any power while waiting like this.

Another big upside is the machines are instantly available when we sit down to use them.
 
pubwvj said:
Modern computers use very little power in this low energy mode and even better is iBooks and PowerBooks which use barely any power while waiting like this.
Click to expand...
There are legitimate reasons for doing what you're suggesting, but this is something of a misconception. You're right that a laptop is pretty lean with the screen and HD asleep, but desktop Macs, particularly G5 towers, use plenty of power even in this "minimally awake" state--well over 100W in the case of my DP2.0, which is way more than most flat panel iMacs running full-bore, and enough to drive up your electricity bill noticably--it'd add up to several dollars a month in my case (and has, the few times I've done this for various reasons).

Personally, I find setting my Mac to sleep afer a reasonable period of inactivity to work just fine, and be a good balance between saving electricity and convienence. Coming back to the original question, doing this will put your computer to sleep after it's finished whatever it's doing--big copy or download operation, etc, which is exactly what you usually want. Just start the grinding, go to bed, and it'll sleep when it's done.

Off at the power strip is an improvement, but it is quite a bit more of a hassle.
 
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