Pre Beginners Sub Basic Questions

[Billy334]

My son inherited a Mac from his grandmother. I am not much of a computer person in the first place and I know nothing about Macs.

He's been having some problems using Safari and I thought I should find out some basic questions about the computer.

But where on the computer can I go to find out?

I don't know what Mac OS or Mac 9 or any of those things mean.

But I should find out all the basic information about the computer and the system so that when I am asked, or the specs matter for some reason (downloading a browser, etc.), I will have them to hand.

How can I discover the most basic facts about my son's computer, hardware, software, etc, from the desktop?

 

[BlueRevolution]

Well, you can find out information on the system's hardware and operating system version under -> About This Mac. Most of the configuration stuff takes place under -> System Preferences, and is fairly straightforward. Apple has some great videos introducing Macs, including one for former Windows users. And, of course, if you can't find your answer elsewhere, I know a great forum where such questions can be posed.

(All of the info I posted above is assuming he's running Mac OS X, which he will be if the computer is less than 8 years old.)

 

[Dane D.]

My son inherited a Mac from his grandmother. I am not much of a computer person in the first place and I know nothing about Macs.

He's been having some problems using Safari and I thought I should find out some basic questions about the computer.

But where on the computer can I go to find out?

I don't know what Mac OS or Mac 9 or any of those things mean.

But I should find out all the basic information about the computer and the system so that when I am asked, or the specs matter for some reason (downloading a browser, etc.), I will have them to hand.

How can I discover the most basic facts about my son's computer, hardware, software, etc, from the desktop?

In the menu bar, click the Apple icon and choose the first line 'About this Mac'. That will list what version the operating system is, what processor is installed, how much memory is installed and has a button to click called 'More Info". This will answer the hardware questions and software installed.

 

[Billy334]

Thank you, guys.

His Facebook account keep crashing and it may have to do with the version of Safari he's using. But he isn't able to update to the latest kind...he has Mac OS X version 10.3.9.

Is there a good place on this forum to ask for help with that problem?

 

[BlueRevolution]

Here is as good as anywhere.

What kind of Mac is it? What speed and type is the processor (eg. 500 MHz PowerPC G3, from the System Info page we mentioned above)? If the computer can handle it, I suggest upgrading at least to Tiger (10.4). Most current software runs fine on Tiger, but a lot of programs have dropped support for Panther (what he's running, 10.3).

 

[Billy334]

Here is as good as anywhere.

What kind of Mac is it? What speed and type is the processor (eg. 500 MHz PowerPC G3, from the System Info page we mentioned above)? If the computer can handle it, I suggest upgrading at least to Tiger (10.4). Most current software runs fine on Tiger, but a lot of programs have dropped support for Panther (what he's running, 10.3).

Computer: iMac PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Operating System? Mac OS X version 10.3.9
Processor: 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4
Memory: 256 MB DDR SDRAM

Browser: Safari 1.3.2 (v312.6)


That's the basic info I found.

I guess I could rephrase the question to:

What can we do, if anything, without spending a penny?

 

[BlueRevolution]

That system should run Tiger perfectly well, and Leopard if you upgrade the memory. You should be able to buy either OS on eBay for a reasonable price.

If you do want to stick with Panther, this thread might be useful.