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just got my first mac

twoodcc said:
well i have itunes, ichat, safari, and some widgets going all at the same time. safari seems kinda slow. but i thought a mac could easily handle this, and it did at first.
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The widgets might be your problem. In some cases I have seen Konfabulator become a huge resource hog and really drain a system. Try operating for an extended period of time without using Konfab and see if there is any difference.

And if is this is the problem, and you like using widgets, just wait for Tiger and Dashboard, I'm sure it will run even smoother than Konfab. :)
 
~Shard~ said:
The widgets might be your problem. In some cases I have seen Konfabulator become a huge resource hog and really drain a system. Try operating for an extended period of time without using Konfab and see if there is any difference.

And if is this is the problem, and you like using widgets, just wait for Tiger and Dashboard, I'm sure it will run even smoother than Konfab. :)
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well i really like the widgets alot. (hope it doesn't run out in 14 days)

i think this is the problem: when i first got it, i had it to go to sleep after 30 min or so (not sure exactly how long). but earlier yesterday, i set it to never go to sleep. i let it sleep last night, and this morning it did seem better (i didn't use it much b/c i had to leave). it's sleeping now (i'm in class with my laptop right now) and i'll let you know how it does the rest of the day.
 
another question i have about my mini, is there any accessories for it? like a sound card for a microphone for garageband? or anything else? i couldn't seem to find any on the apple website.

also, i couldn't get adium to work with my AIM account. i don't have AOL, i just have the free aol instant messenger account.
 
well i installed and ran onyx, and my mac mini is still a little slow. then i restarted, and still seemed a little slow, but not near as bad as before. i know it only has 256 of ram, but it wasn't doing this when i first got it. but i really don't want to part with my widgets. :(
 
twoodcc said:
another question i have about my mini, is there any accessories for it? like a sound card for a microphone for garageband? or anything else? i couldn't seem to find any on the apple website.

also, i couldn't get adium to work with my AIM account. i don't have AOL, i just have the free aol instant messenger account.
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Everyone and my grandmother is making cute white accessories for apple computers these days. Griffin, Iogear, and tons of others. Go to the apple store online and you'll be overwhelmed. http://www.apple.com/store or http://www.griffintechnology.com or http://www.iogear.com for starters.

EDIT: And what exactly is the problem with your AIM account on Adium? w/o details we really can't help you. For me, it "Just Works". Go to the Adium Preferences, Accounts is the very first one. Hit the "+" button in the lower left, use the dropdown to choose "AIM" as the account type, put in my username (mine's an ancient netscape.com account) and password and bob's your mother's brother.
 
thanks for the links.

as for adium, i did all that, but my username and password doesn't work. but it does with ichat. so what does that mean? i setup an AIM account. it just keeps asking for my password. my screen-name is timwd. do i have to put timwd@aim.com or something? i just put timwd.
 
Until you upgrade to 512 MB of ram, you will always deal with sluggish performance. Crucial.com seems to be highly recommended by others.

As for getting audio into your mini, your only options are either USB or FireWire audio interfaces.

A very inexpensive way is to get a Griffin iMic USB Audio Interface. It is about $35. This would be good for basic work, but not serious recording (the quality will not be up to recording-studio quality by any means):
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...ction/reenterStore?productLearnMore=T3041LL/A

A more professional option is a Mark of the Unicorn Firewire based interface, such as the 828 Mark II:
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/828/body.html/en

This unit is for serious recording with a high quality signal. It costs about $750 new. I would look for one on ebay if I were shopping. I just went there and found someone selling three for $719 each:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41784&item=7308074435&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

The question is: how serious are you about it? If serious, save up for the 828 while buying the iMic for getting used to GarageBand and for getting musical ideas down. Also, if you are serious, the $$$$ will have to keep flowing from your wallet to the sellers. You will need a good mic, a good pre-amp (minimum $500 for a good one), a good audio program (Logic or Digital Performer or Pro Tools), and some musical talent in order to take it to the next level (or extreme luck or persistance).

Feel free to ask any other questions. Keep in mind that for serious audio work, the Mac Mini is going to ultimately disappoint. As you get more and more serious, the Mini's shortcomings will become obvious. Playing back several audio tracks, midi tracks, effects plug-ins, and software synths will surely bog the Mini down. When you get more into it, you will want to upgrade to a tower-based Mac, like a dual processor G5. For beginning in audio with GarageBand, the Mini will be just fine.
 
well i plan on putting 1 gb in my mini later (i have to deal with 256 for at least 2 more months).

i'm not that serious with audio. just beginner. my younger brother can play the piano really good for his age (11), and my uncle sings and plays the guitar, so nothing really big or anything. thanks for the links and info.

about garageband, i haven't played around much with it (i'm in a college dorm right now), but this summer is when i want to try it out with my bro and stuff. i figured out how to use the keyboard to play like a piano. what all can i do with garageband?
 
twoodcc said:
thanks for the links.

as for adium, i did all that, but my username and password doesn't work. but it does with ichat. so what does that mean? i setup an AIM account. it just keeps asking for my password. my screen-name is timwd. do i have to put timwd@aim.com or something? i just put timwd.
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Hrm. I didn't have to put in the whole address, it seems even less likely that you would have to, as yours is solely a chat username with no email domain attached (I think). The only other thing I can think of (besides stupid obvious stuff that I sometimes forget like not having my caps lock on! and make sure it's set up as an AIM protocol account in the account type dropdown) is maybe look in the connection tab and making sure the server is set up correctly, for me, it's login.oscar.aol.com port 5190. I don't know how this would get messed up, but...step one is always make sure your cords work and are plugged in correctly. ;)
 
panphage said:
Hrm. I didn't have to put in the whole address, it seems even less likely that you would have to, as yours is solely a chat username with no email domain attached (I think). The only other thing I can think of (besides stupid obvious stuff that I sometimes forget like not having my caps lock on! and make sure it's set up as an AIM protocol account in the account type dropdown) is maybe look in the connection tab and making sure the server is set up correctly, for me, it's login.oscar.aol.com port 5190. I don't know how this would get messed up, but...step one is always make sure your cords work and are plugged in correctly. ;)
Click to expand...

thanks for trying. i'm sure my password and username is correct (works with ichat). i have it set to AIM in accounts. (there is only one AIM in there, right?) as far as setting up the server, i'm not sure about that.
 
porting

twoodcc said:
thanks for trying. i'm sure my password and username is correct (works with ichat). i have it set to AIM in accounts. (there is only one AIM in there, right?) as far as setting up the server, i'm not sure about that.
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I'm not Sure, but I know that some routers block port 5190. I'm sure that iChat uses the same ports though. I know that I started a threat about AIM porting. Just search for threads Started by me. I can't give you a specific link, sorry. Right now I'm posting on my Axim So I dont have all that info in front of me.
 
h0e0h said:
I'm not Sure, but I know that some routers block port 5190. I'm sure that iChat uses the same ports though. I know that I started a threat about AIM porting. Just search for threads Started by me. I can't give you a specific link, sorry. Right now I'm posting on my Axim So I dont have all that info in front of me.
Click to expand...

well i tried to search, but couldn't find the thread you speak of.
 
twoodcc said:
i've heard about burning cd's using toast. how do i get it? is it free?

thanks in advance
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No, unfortunately Toast is not free, but is is an excellent program IMO. I use it along with Jam a lot (more audio-specific burning app) so it is well worth the money. You can burn data discs, audio discs, MP3 discs, Mac + PC format, VCDs, SVCDs, DVDs, videos, disc-disc copies, images, you name it. Excellent program!
 
twoodcc said:
is toast the only program that i can burn cd data disks with?
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No, you can select pretty much anything in Finder, right-click/ctrl-click and burn it. Either that or click the Burn icon on the toolbar.
 
don't worry, i will. thanks

i went into my first apple store today. it was awesome. very crowed also. they have to be making a killing. but all the stuff they had on display was amazing. i've never seen so much on display before. i was very impressed
 
twoodcc said:
i've noticed alot of software for mac is "shareware". but it costs $25. how is that shareware?
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Shareware is not freeware. With shareware, you are usually asked to at least contribute to development.
 
"Shareware" has become a catchall word for all software that is distributed by small or largely independent developers, that costs a reasonable price, and that generally is distributed via the internet (there are exceptions of course). Much of it is fully functional without any real limitations, whereas most has either annoying pop ups ("Register Me!!"), or mandatory wait times until the program will launch, or the inability to perform the most desirous functions of the programs (the latter limitation will result in many programs being called "Demos" versus "Shareware.") If you use shareware (and you should), you morally need to pay for it. I pay for all the shareware I regularly use. In the Mac world, piracy is not acceptable the way it seems to be in the Windows world.
 
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