Mac Newbie... Whole life PC user

[jota73]

Hey guys!

For a long time (more than 16 years) I have been a PC user, although I am not techy I understand concepts and some configuration steps.
A week ago a received my Intel Core Duo Mac desktop 1.83Ghz whith 1GB Ram...
First of all... this computer rocks!
But as expected I have some question I would really appreciate any help:

1. I have a wireless router (Linksys), each time I turn on my mac I have to manually connect to internet, by selecting the ssid of my access point.. why?? Can't I make this be done automatic?

2. I have not been able to configure my airport express. I tried connecting the airport through it's cable but I cannot see it on my utility of airport, nor in the wireless... how do I configure it? Please some help

3. I have to msn accounts which I use for Messenger, somehow when I disconnect from one and switch to the the other my screen name changes to the one I had on the last one used, no matter on which I am signing in... why?

Probably one of the most stupid question, but I would really appreciate any answer:

4. Is it worth the .MAC suscription? I have office with entourage, have gmail accounts... is it really worth paying 99 for it? iChat... have no friends with imac messenger.... please some advice

5. I have two users created on my mac and both have the same music... where should I put my music so that both can access it without having to duplicating it in both users?

I would really appreciate the help that anyone can give me....

 

[1dterbeest]

4. the subscription isn't worth it unless you are hosting webpages. Then maybe. MAYBE.

5. Put your itunes library in your shared folder
and make sure to set the preferences on both
user accounts to recognize it there.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

1. System preferences -> Network -> Show Airport -> Airport tab -> By default, join Preferred networks (and add your network).

2. Not sure. My Airport showed (and still shows) up just fine when I fire up AirPort Admin Utility (though I had some trouble with the wizards, if I recall correctly). What do you mean by "I tried connecting the airport through it's cable"?

3. Use Adium X...

4. I never thought .mac was worth it...

5. iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

 

[jsw]

2. I have not been able to configure my airport express. I tried connecting the airport through it's cable but I cannot see it on my utility of airport, nor in the wireless... how do I configure it? Please some help

Try this: while using a pen/pin/small pointy object of some sort to hold in the tiny reset button on the AirPort Express, plug it in (this is tricky, but works better than trying it after plugging it in). Keep the reset button depressed until you see four (I think... it's been a while) green blinks - that means it's reset, and it takes maybe 10 seconds (which seems like forever as you're keeping that tiny button pressed). Do not stop pressing until you see those green blinks.

Next, if possible, plug your AirPort Express into an ethernet cable connected to your network (but that isn't essential).

Then, on your Mac, open up Applications->Utilities->AirPort Setup Assistant. Step through that, and things should work fine.

4. Is it worth the .MAC suscription? I have office with entourage, have gmail accounts... is it really worth paying 99 for it? iChat... have no friends with imac messenger.... please some advice

For you, likely not worth it. For me, with my half dozen Macs, it's a lifesaver, makes syncing easier, the wife and kids enjoy iWeb integration, etc. For you, though, with one Mac, it'd be hard to easily justify it. I think it only starts to pay off with multiple Macs.

5. I have two users created on my mac and both have the same music... where should I put my music so that both can access it without having to duplicating it in both users?

Generally, /Users/Shared (Macintosh HD->Users->Shared) is a great place for all such things - everyone can get to stuff there). Edit: just see Mitthrawnuruodo's link!

 

[jota73]

thanks!

Great help, although I will give it a try this night.....
One last question about Audim.... some time ago I used Trillian.... What I dont want to happne is that both accounts merge on the same program... I need to work separately from both.. so would this Audim program merge both??

 

[annk]

First and foremost - congrats and welcome!!!

As to .mac, I understand why some say it's not worth it, but if you want an easy way to share pics and videos with family and friends, I would say it's worth it. It's a bit pricey and it's slow (uploading), but it's made it SOOO easy for me to share pics and videos with friends and family. Try it out free for 60 days and see what you think.