Bought my first Mac (second hand Powerbook), have questions...

[Andillo]

Hello,

one week ago, I bought my first Mac - after 9 years of DOS/Windows. It's a second hand Powerbook G4-400 with 640MB RAM; a new one would have been too expensive for me, now.
I have some "newbie" questions, I'm sure you can help me:


- Is is possible to turn off the internal display when the Powerbook is connected to an external VGA monitor/keyboard/mouse? I can only choose mirroring or extended desktop, but not to disable it entirely, which I would prefer.

- Can I buy a new, higher capacity battery? Latest TiBook batteries, for 866/1000, have something like ~63 Watt
Mine, however, has ~51 and is also pretty old... it lasts only about 2 hours in OS X :-(.

- Is it possible to turn off the font smoothing entirely? I can only disable it for fonts <12, but I'd like to turn it off for all sizes. I know, it's a matter of taste, but I prefer sharpness.

- Can the file preview be disabled? Sometimes, when I click on a movie or so, it takes about 10 sec. untill preview is here (and I don't need it at all!)

- Is there a moe comfortable picture viewer than iPhoto? iPhoto is nice for collecting and sorting albums, but when it comes to viewing, I don't like it (presentation?). I want to view files in full screen, fitted to screen OR in original size, zoom it in and out when I want (in viewer mode)... just like ACDSee for Windows does... but there is no ACDSee for OS X, only Classic :-(

- Can I use any 2.5 inch IDE harddisk? Will big HDs, 40 or 60 GB, work without problems?

------------------------------------------
By the way, for now, I really like my TiBook. It's very likely that I'll buy another Mac in 1-2 years. Apple has probably "won" a new customer!


Andillo

 

[teabgs]

for programs and other neat things see versiontracker.com

For pictures...whats wrong with Preview?

I've never had a laptop, so sorry I cant help with any of that, and I don't know about turning all font smoothing off.

 

[WinterMute]

Welcome to the portable world...

If you need to loose the screen, just turn the brightness right down, last click, screen goes dark.

You can use any compatible Ti battery, but I'm not sure you'll see too much improvement, OSX uses the disc a lot more than 9 did, (UNIX don't ya know...) so you're bound to get more drain, but at least the machine runs cooler.

Never looked at the font smoothing, but as teabags notes, check out www.versiontracker.com for loads of apps.

I use GraphicConverter for everything that doesn't NEED Photoshop, it's on versiontracker and is one of the best supported graphic manipulators on the Mac. The "Browse Folder" function and the slideshow alone make it worth the fee.

i'm pretty sure you can chuck any Apple approved drive in, but the installation is a bit of a b*****d if you're not used to the Ti, and I think it's expensive to get it done. I used a 20 gig Lacie Pocket drive for a while, now I've got an iPod for occasional stuff and an 80gig external at home.

Have fun, these are the best portables on the face of the planet, even the older ones.

 

[Bear]

Re: Bought my first Mac (second hand Powerbook), have questions...

Originally posted by Andillo
- Can I buy a new, higher capacity battery? Latest TiBook batteries, for 866/1000, have something like ~63 Watt
Mine, however, has ~51 and is also pretty old... it lasts only about 2 hours in OS X :-(.

They should be compatable. Check with Apple.

- Is it possible to turn off the font smoothing entirely? I can only disable it for fonts <12, but I'd like to turn it off for all sizes. I know, it's a matter of taste, but I prefer sharpness.

I don't know how to turn it off either, but try changing the smoothing style, maybe one of those will look better to you.

- Is there a moe comfortable picture viewer than iPhoto? iPhoto is nice for collecting and sorting albums, but when it comes to viewing, I don't like it (presentation?). I want to view files in full screen, fitted to screen OR in original size, zoom it in and out when I want (in viewer mode)... just like ACDSee for Windows does... but there is no ACDSee for OS X, only Classic :-(

If your images are from a digital camera, have you tried the application that came with the camera? Also, I suggest you give Apple feedback in the form of a request for enhancement and why you those features would be nice to have. Apple actively solicits feedback.

- Can I use any 2.5 inch IDE harddisk? Will big HDs, 40 or 60 GB, work without problems?

Almost any 2.5" drive will work. There are some that are too thick to fit into the TiBook. Other then that, there is no problem with a larger drive. (Well at least up to 128GB where there might be issues depending on the IDE controller used in the TiBook.)

 

[trive]

- Can I buy a new, higher capacity battery? Latest TiBook batteries, for 866/1000, have something like ~63 Watt.

I think so but ask where you bought your mac. They'll advise you the best battery.


- Is it possible to turn off the font smoothing entirely? I can only disable it for fonts <12, but I'd like to turn it off for all sizes. I know, it's a matter of taste, but I prefer sharpness.
- Can the file preview be disabled? Sometimes, when I click on a movie or so, it takes about 10 sec. untill preview is here (and I don't need it at all!)

Yes, with TINKER TOOL. You can find on versiontracker.


- Is there a moe comfortable picture viewer than iPhoto? iPhoto is nice for collecting and sorting albums, but when it comes to viewing, I don't like it (presentation?). I want to view files in full screen, fitted to screen OR in original size, zoom it in and out when I want (in viewer mode)...

Preview!


- Can I use any 2.5 inch IDE harddisk? Will big HDs, 40 or 60 GB, work without problems?

I think so but ask where you bought your mac.

 

[eatbacon]

As for the display, the best way is to close the lid, let the laptop go to sleep, hook up your external display/keyboard/mouse, and then wake the machine using the external keyboard/mouse. This truely disables the internal display rather than simply turning the brightness down. I had problems with this in earlier versions of os x, but it seems to be working fine now. Just remember to put the laptop back to sleep before you reverse the process.

 

[WinterMute]

Originally posted by eatbacon
As for the display, the best way is to close the lid, let the laptop go to sleep, hook up your external display/keyboard/mouse, and then wake the machine using the external keyboard/mouse. This truely disables the internal display rather than simply turning the brightness down. I had problems with this in earlier versions of os x, but it seems to be working fine now. Just remember to put the laptop back to sleep before you reverse the process.

Good one...

I love the fact all this stuff is there under the hood, it just keeps popping up.