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Operating System Specific Discussions => Other Operating Systems => Topic started by: Matt_H on February 26, 2010, 02:01:06 AM

Title: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 26, 2010, 02:01:06 AM
So long, clunky old Compaq, and hello shiny new (well, Apple refurbished) Mac Mini! How ironic that well over 90% of the time I've spent setting it up has been getting Windows installed and then updated 97 times on VMWare - and that's before I've even migrated any of my data.

(And although I'll probably just install WinUAE under VMWare, what's the best incarnation of UAE for the Mac? Is it MaxUAE?)

I've never had my own Mac before. Looking forward to learning the quirks of OSX that only an owner can discover :)
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: save2600 on February 26, 2010, 02:34:37 AM
Congrats! Don't know what it's like installing WinDoze on an Intel based Mac  (and probably never will) - but kudos!  If you end up using OSX, you'll be rewarded with a very nice, neat, clean and stable computing experience that will leave you wondering why in the F!@# it took you so long to convert  :)
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Crom00 on February 26, 2010, 02:37:53 AM
Quote from: save2600;545165
Congrats! Don't know what it's like installing WinDoze on an Intel based Mac  (and probably never will) - but kudos!  If you end up using OSX, you'll be rewarded with a very nice, neat, clean and stable computing experience that will leave you wondering why in the F!@# it took you so long to convert  :)


Yep..I use the E-Fix Bios adapter on a Gigabye quad core.
REally the best of both worlds. The efix allows installation of OSX and Windows on separate drives. A kick ass solution especially with a HDMI capture card AND the PC Video Toaster in the machine.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: pan1k on February 26, 2010, 02:48:38 AM
I'm a mac person. You'll enjoy it! If you need any help, just ask, but hey, if you can use an Amiga.. a Mac is sooo easy!
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 26, 2010, 03:50:36 AM
Quote from: save2600;545165
...computing experience that will leave you wondering why in the F!@# it took you so long to convert  :)


Money had a lot to do with it :)

@ Crom00

New BIOS adapter? How does that differ from / why not use BootCamp?
Toaster in a MacPro... sounds like a dual-booting productivity powerhouse!
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: amigadave on February 26, 2010, 05:01:18 AM
Stick with WinUAE if you have an Intel Mac and are running some version of Windows through VMWare, or you can also just use Bootcamp to put Windows on a separate partition and dual boot directly into Windows to use WinUAE.  None of the other UAE versions for Linux or MacOSX are as good and clean as WinUAE.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 27, 2010, 03:18:06 AM
Quote from: amigadave;545181
Stick with WinUAE if you have an Intel Mac and are running some version of Windows through VMWare, or you can also just use Bootcamp to put Windows on a separate partition and dual boot directly into Windows to use WinUAE.  None of the other UAE versions for Linux or MacOSX are as good and clean as WinUAE.


WinUAE it is, then. Thanks!
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Crom00 on February 27, 2010, 04:17:57 AM
Quote from: Matt_H;545174
Money had a lot to do with it :)

@ Crom00

New BIOS adapter? How does that differ from / why not use BootCamp?
Toaster in a MacPro... sounds like a dual-booting productivity powerhouse!


Flexibility. I use cheap pc hardware, motherobard with mulitple slots, I can swap pout my CPU, GFX card, etc. Esata drives Space for lots more drives..
no LEGACY PCI slots in a MacPro

On a MacPro it's not that easy to do what I can with my setup.

Bootcamp requires a MAC, and we all know the desktops are expensive.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 27, 2010, 04:39:14 AM
@ Crom00

Oh, I see, one of the OSx86 bootloaders. Should have picked that up earlier from "Gigabyte quad core" :)

I put OSX onto my Eee 901 a while ago, but the hardware's just not well enough supported... and the internal drive is pathetic. The whole purpose of a netbook is kinda defeated if you have to lug around an external drive, and I'm not sure I want to sink the money into it for a bigger SSD.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Hell Labs on February 27, 2010, 11:24:15 PM
what type of ssd though? If it's 1.8 ide, you could buy an old iPod with a smashed screen and crack it open. Dunno how much power those drives  pull though, might bring battery life down a bit.

Plus it's "apple labeled hardware" so your licence agreement is now valid.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Crom00 on February 27, 2010, 11:56:40 PM
The Lenovo S10E series is well supported and comes with a good sized hard drive. I installed some old Mac Mini ram and I now have 2.5 GB ram and the stock 160GB hd.

This particular setup runs win7 and MacOS Leopard quite well considering its speed.
Beats taking a $2000 MacBookPro into harms way.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Tension on February 28, 2010, 01:38:00 AM
I am confused.

Why would you buy a Mac to make it run Windows?
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 28, 2010, 01:43:38 AM
Quote from: Tension;545454
I am confused.

Why would you buy a Mac to make it run Windows?


To still be able to handle the multitudes of Windows-only programs.

And I don't have Office for Mac yet.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 28, 2010, 01:51:20 AM
Quote from: Hell Labs;545446
what type of ssd though? If it's 1.8 ide, you could buy an old iPod with a smashed screen and crack it open. Dunno how much power those drives  pull though, might bring battery life down a bit.

Plus it's "apple labeled hardware" so your licence agreement is now valid.


I already have such a drive... and it won't work in the Eee 901. The 901 has 2 SSDs - a fast 4GB one and a slow 8GB one. Only the 8GB one is user accessible, and the miniPCIe-to-ZIF adapter I replaced it with to connect the 1.8" drive won't work with the 4GB drive still connected. And the adapter makes it too fat to close the trapdoor. Very frustrating.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Hell Labs on February 28, 2010, 02:49:54 AM
Quote from: Matt_H;545456
I already have such a drive... and it won't work in the Eee 901. The 901 has 2 SSDs - a fast 4GB one and a slow 8GB one. Only the 8GB one is user accessible, and the miniPCIe-to-ZIF adapter I replaced it with to connect the 1.8" drive won't work with the 4GB drive still connected. And the adapter makes it too fat to close the trapdoor. Very frustrating.

I'm confusded here. The 4gb one is for the usual linux OS, right? but you have OSX on there, so...:confused:
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on February 28, 2010, 03:05:00 AM
Nope, my OSX install is on a clunky external USB drive. I've got Windows on the 4GB drive, and it's incredibly painful.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: beller on February 28, 2010, 11:47:00 PM
Quote from: Matt_H;545455
To still be able to handle the multitudes of Windows-only programs.

And I don't have Office for Mac yet.


I put XP on both my mini and my MacBook and have since deleted both.  Took up lots of hard drive and I really only used it for Amiga emulation. However, if you need it Bootcamp is great.  

If you haven't tried it, take a look at Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org).  I'm thinking this might be a better replacement for Office than paying for an upgrade....

Congrats on the new Mac!

Bob
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 01, 2010, 12:08:01 AM
Quote from: Matt_H;545455
To still be able to handle the multitudes of Windows-only programs.

And I don't have Office for Mac yet.

Matt,

First -- welcome to the light...

When I went 100% Mac 4 years ago -- out of frustration, now HATRED for Microsoft -- on a spur of the moment decision, I thought about all the "multitude of Windows programs" (hahaha) and even bought Parallels with it just to be able to make sure I would "survive" the change.

To date, 4 years later, I have found exactly ONE program (Newsrover) which doesn't have a better equivalent on the Mac.  I've fired up Parallels three times, usually to download Mac software from the usenet newsgroups.

Trust me.  Unless you're running some weird, off the wall stuff, get OpenOffice (or even buy a copy of Office for the Mac if you must) and you'll NEVER even miss the PC at all.

Wayne

The Macs so far...

Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Crom00 on March 01, 2010, 12:13:04 AM
Guys the dell mini 9 rocks MacOS... forget the ipad!
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: B00tDisk on March 01, 2010, 12:18:06 AM
Quote from: Matt_H;545164
So long, clunky old Compaq, and hello shiny new (well, Apple refurbished) Mac Mini! How ironic that well over 90% of the time I've spent setting it up has been getting Windows installed and then updated 97 times on VMWare - and that's before I've even migrated any of my data.

(And although I'll probably just install WinUAE under VMWare, what's the best incarnation of UAE for the Mac? Is it MaxUAE?)

I've never had my own Mac before. Looking forward to learning the quirks of OSX that only an owner can discover :)


Here's a fun thing - I'm guessing this is an Intel mac, right?  Y'know that thing that amigans and mac users used to do to show off how "bad" a PC was, by opening task manager, selecting CPU Usage and then whipping the window around and watching the CPU use spike?

Same thing happens on Macs these days ;)
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 01, 2010, 12:18:56 AM
Quote from: Crom00;545608
Guys the dell mini 9 rocks MacOS... forget the ipad!
Yep.  If it weren't for the keyboard, I'd probably not have bought the latest macbook pro.  Well, that, and while it can fire up Garageband, it has a bit of trouble recording vodcasts (which really needs the core2duo).

Matter of fact, for three weeks, I ran it here, driving a 20" LCD monitor and using my ergo keyboard and wireless mouse.

Greatest little workpad you can get for the money.  Just don't expect to do 3d rendering on it.

FYI, what I have is the black "Vostro A90" (business model Mini 9) with 32gb Runcore SSD (fastest) and 2gb of RAM.  

Hell, straight out of the box, even the camera works with photobooth..!

Wayne
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: B00tDisk on March 01, 2010, 12:19:17 AM
Quote from: Crom00;545608
Guys the dell mini 9 rocks MacOS... forget the ipad!

I love running hackintoshes.  Just a sharp, hard swift kick right in Steve Jobs' balls

:D :D :D
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 01, 2010, 12:22:54 AM
Quote from: B00tDisk;545609
Same thing happens on Macs these days ;)
Perhaps.. Haven't tried it, but here's the fun thing about that.  When you have a Core2Duo chip running 2Ghz+ and a MINIMUM of 2gb of DDR3 RAM, does "a little spike" matter at all?

Trust me.  It doesn't.  :)

I routinely format and burn DVD's while playing Call of Duty 4 over the net with little to no appreciable effect on the fps rates..  Of course, that's on the 3.06 c2d 27" iMac.  Haven't yet run CoD 4 on the baby book.

Wayne
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 01, 2010, 12:29:09 AM
Just to make this Amiga related, Mac OSX on the Intel platform is EXACTLY where and what the Amiga coulda, shoulda done starting in 2000.  Imagine where we'd be now if they had..

Wayne
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Crom00 on March 01, 2010, 12:45:16 AM
Quote from: Wayne;545615
Just to make this Amiga related, Mac OSX on the Intel platform is EXACTLY where and what the Amiga coulda, shoulda done starting in 2000.  Imagine where we'd be now if they had..

Wayne


Don't remind me Wayne. I was so happy with Amithlon. Imagine if that was developed then turned into OS4/ OS5.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 01, 2010, 12:57:33 AM
For the record, just tried Call of Duty 4 (and Sims 2) and other games I have on hand on the laptop, and were it not for a crappy wifi connection, all I can say is... "Game on!"
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: kickstart on March 01, 2010, 01:11:16 AM
I dont see the point comapring osx with amiga could be, if amigaos in future becomes more powerfull hope that its no closer to osx.

Maybe mac is so popular in the usa and it make see osx with better eyes.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 01, 2010, 01:26:18 AM
Quote from: kickstart;545629
I dont see the point comapring osx with amiga could be, if amigaos in future becomes more powerfull hope that its no closer to osx.

Maybe mac is so popular in the usa and it make see osx with better eyes.
Not comparing AmigaOS with OS X.  You couldn't, no matter how delusional you are.

What I was saying was.. In 2000, if Amiga Inc had "pulled an apple" and built a new AmigaOS out of a NetBSD or Linux kernal like Apple did with OS X, then ran it on commodity hardware, we'd all be singing a much happier tune today.

Wayne
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: smerf on March 01, 2010, 01:26:28 AM
Quote from: Matt_H;545164
So long, clunky old Compaq, and hello shiny new (well, Apple refurbished) Mac Mini! How ironic that well over 90% of the time I've spent setting it up has been getting Windows installed and then updated 97 times on VMWare - and that's before I've even migrated any of my data.

(And although I'll probably just install WinUAE under VMWare, what's the best incarnation of UAE for the Mac? Is it MaxUAE?)

I've never had my own Mac before. Looking forward to learning the quirks of OSX that only an owner can discover :)


Hi,

I agree it is MAC time and I am having my MAC attack, went to mickey D's and ate 4 MAC's in one sit and an order of fry's and a coke.

have fun,
smerf
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: rkauer on March 01, 2010, 01:48:10 AM
I can see a resemblance between classic AmigaOS and actual Mac: both are a "flavour" of Unix. Mac is made from BSD (which in turn is a spin-off of UNIX). Amiga is made from a different branch, practically a new Unix from scratch, but still a unix-like system.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: DaDigz on March 01, 2010, 02:37:34 AM
Quote from: beller;545600
I put XP on both my mini and my MacBook and have since deleted both.  Took up lots of hard drive and I really only used it for Amiga emulation. However, if you need it Bootcamp is great.  

If you haven't tried it, take a look at Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org).  I'm thinking this might be a better replacement for Office than paying for an upgrade....

Congrats on the new Mac!

Bob


What you really want is NeoOffice http://www.neooffice.org. Much better integrated version of OO IMHO. :)
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: kickstart on March 01, 2010, 02:38:32 AM
Quote from: Wayne;545633
Not comparing AmigaOS with OS X.  You couldn't, no matter how delusional you are.

What I was saying was.. In 2000, if Amiga Inc had "pulled an apple" and built a new AmigaOS out of a NetBSD or Linux kernal like Apple did with OS X, then ran it on commodity hardware, we'd all be singing a much happier tune today.

Wayne


Then... the same example can be used for windows... if ms built a new windows with a some linux or unix kernel...

And talking about hardware, apple hardware is just like other pc, if someone can use osx is much cheap to  make a hackintosh an possibly better.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on March 01, 2010, 04:23:30 AM
Quote from: beller;545600
I put XP on both my mini and my MacBook and have since deleted both.  Took up lots of hard drive and I really only used it for Amiga emulation. However, if you need it Bootcamp is great.  

If you haven't tried it, take a look at Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org).  I'm thinking this might be a better replacement for Office than paying for an upgrade....

Congrats on the new Mac!

Bob


I expect I'll be using Windows less and less as I transition off my "crutch", but I'd rather have it available and not use it than not have it and suddenly need it. My hard drive's plenty big and I only gave Windows the BootCamp button-press default of 32GB.

I've used OpenOffice Writer before. It's plenty capable on its own, but it's just not good enough at data exchange with Word (which is the same reason I'm not using Wordworth for everything on my Amiga). Luckily, I've had the good fortune to have not had to pay for a Microsoft product in ages - good old right-place-right-time for site-licensed copies - and this has held up for Mac Office :)
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: rkauer on March 01, 2010, 05:25:41 AM
IIRC, there is a minimal WinXP installation ready to only boot WinUAE.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Golem!dk on March 01, 2010, 11:33:19 AM
Quote from: rkauer;545643
I can see a resemblance between classic AmigaOS and actual Mac: both are a "flavour" of Unix. Mac is made from BSD (which in turn is a spin-off of UNIX). Amiga is made from a different branch, practically a new Unix from scratch, but still a unix-like system.


Huh?
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: beller on March 01, 2010, 07:20:40 PM
Quote from: Matt_H;545663

I've used OpenOffice Writer before. It's plenty capable on its own, but it's just not good enough at data exchange with Word (which is the same reason I'm not using Wordworth for everything on my Amiga). Luckily, I've had the good fortune to have not had to pay for a Microsoft product in ages - good old right-place-right-time for site-licensed copies - and this has held up for Mac Office :)


You might have an upgrade path. In the past Microsoft allowed users to cross upgrade from one platform to another.  You might check to see if its available.  I've recently had problems with exchanging files with PC users using a 2004 Office for Mac version.  Since it's my freelance work, I guess I'll need to update Office myself.  I'd love to use the free versions, I just don't want to explain to clients why they have problems with my files!

Actually, going back to doing work for Amiga companies, file format has been a big hassle.  I bought my first Mac so I could produce an Amiga manual.  The client was much happier when I switched and, since I had a second computer to write on, their buggy software didn't cost me work time!
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: tone007 on March 01, 2010, 07:41:09 PM
Quote from: Golem!dk;545694

Quote from: rkauer
I can see a resemblance between classic AmigaOS and actual Mac: both are a "flavour" of Unix. Mac is made from BSD (which in turn is a spin-off of UNIX). Amiga is made from a different branch, practically a new Unix from scratch, but still a unix-like system.

Huh?


Yeah, AmigaOS isn't on the chart, it's not UNIX.  http://cbmvax.com/unix.png (big picture.)

Amiga UNIX is there, however.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Nostalgiac on March 01, 2010, 08:58:02 PM
Quote from: Crom00;545608
Guys the dell mini 9 rocks MacOS... forget the ipad!


Even better... Dell Mini 10v !
posting from my own Dell Mini 10v here... on Snow Leopard :)
... but i do have a recent macbook pro (2 in fact) as well

Tom UK
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: koaftder on March 02, 2010, 12:50:06 AM
I'm a mac head myself, but I don't like where they're going with the iTampon. What's next, a locked down OS X where one has to kneel down to Jobs to install software? I wouldn't be supprised if eventually the Mac lineup dissolved into developers only machines for a high price with all the focus on this gimped consumer crap.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on March 02, 2010, 12:59:07 AM
Quote from: Wayne;545633
Not comparing AmigaOS with OS X.  You couldn't, no matter how delusional you are.

What I was saying was.. In 2000, if Amiga Inc had "pulled an apple" and built a new AmigaOS out of a NetBSD or Linux kernal like Apple did with OS X, then ran it on commodity hardware, we'd all be singing a much happier tune today.

Wayne


But, but... AmigaOS5 will be better than OSX! :crazy:



Unix-backed AmigaOS... I don't know. I was skeptical of the QNX route back when it was announced ages ago. I wasn't too upset when it fell through. Commodity hardware, yes, that's the way to go, but I'm unconvinced on Unix. Maybe if Anubis ever writes a line of code I'll give it a try. That seems like the same concept.
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: B00tDisk on March 02, 2010, 01:10:45 AM
Quote from: koaftder;545809
What's next, a locked down OS X where one has to kneel down to Jobs to install software?


Well that's half of what you'll be doing.

:D
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on March 04, 2010, 12:24:57 AM
Hey, is there an Aminet-type place for Mac software?
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Wayne on March 04, 2010, 01:20:38 AM
Quote from: Matt_H;546067
Hey, is there an Aminet-type place for Mac software?
Aminet is kind of a really outdated idea, as most software projects/groups/people put up their own web sites.

The best place I've found is downloads.com.

Wayne
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: Matt_H on March 04, 2010, 01:51:41 AM
Quote from: Wayne;546075
Aminet is kind of a really outdated idea, as most software projects/groups/people put up their own web sites.

The best place I've found is downloads.com.

Wayne


Hm, I'll have a look. Thanks!
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: save2600 on March 04, 2010, 02:31:33 AM
Quote from: Wayne;546075
Aminet is kind of a really outdated idea, as most software projects/groups/people put up their own web sites.

The best place I've found is downloads.com.

Wayne


What, what, what? :lol:

Aminet rocks. Screw visiting and bookmarking a ton of random sites that may not be there tomorrow. Aminet is a no-messing around solution with a super clean interface that isn't littered with flashy frivolous crap, pop ups, Flash or any goofy computer performance crushing languages. My only complaint is that their search engine could be a tad bit better - but if that would mean a performance hit while surfing - forget it. Happy with it just the way it is  :)
Title: Re: Mac time!
Post by: kickstart on March 04, 2010, 03:04:51 AM
Aminet its enough for amiga, the omnipresent, glorious, uberpowered blah blah mac need a redesing idea of a download portal, maybe called iDownload, and presented to the world like the most original idea ever.