Macintosh question

[TheJackal]

No Operating System flaming please! no Microsoft sucks thread, Mac sucks, Linux sucks, or etc.

 

I'm starting to use the Macintosh, mostly cause of my college graphic design program.

 

Anyways, this may sound stupid. But how the hell do I make shortcuts to programs? I got Illustrator, Photoshop and InternetExplorer that I want either on my desktop or at the bottom quick tool bar.

 

HOW? I've tried simply draging the file to the desktop (ala Windows) to create a shortcut. But instead it copies the .exe (or whatever it is in MAC world). (In other words... it doesn't work)

 

 

BTW. What's with the no button mouse! I'm not used to that! I need 4 buttons + mouse wheel! )

 

 

 

edited: i can't even spell Macintosh properly! (thread title)

[teutonicknight]

I use both Macs and PCs but I don't know the answers to your questions, cept for one:

 

BTW. What's with the no button mouse! I'm not used to that! I need 4 buttons + mouse wheel! )

 

Buy a New Mouse that connects with USB (2 buttons and more! ) and it should work. Well, it works with 2 buttons. (I have a mac two button mouse)

[NerfYoda]

I know this worked in the pre os x days. Press command-m to make an alias to your file & you can do whatever you like with the alias. You can also go to File -> Make Alias in your Finder. If you're using os x you can always drag your app to the dock & it'll stay there until you drag it off. Have fun. I'm planning on replacing my main computer with an iBook & using this one as my gaming rig. Now that Jaguar is out & theres a lovely stable UNIX based OS that actually runs consumer apps bye bye wintel.

[TheJackal]

Thanks

 

 

I'm thinking of getting either a brand new iMac with a G4 chip, or just getting the G4 tower. If I get the tower it would save space and I could hook it up with my PC and use a swtich that can go from PC to Mac (for my monitor). However it is very expansive. So then I look at the iMac. But it takes up the space which I dont have.

 

I'll wait about 6 months or maybe a 1 year before deciding if I need to buy any macintosh products so far.

[The Truthful Liar]

I'm also leaning towards graphic production and design, however I don't think I'm ready to tackle a Mac with its completely different style of handling programs and such...

 

*ponders*

 

Perhaps I should just go for it...

[TheJackal]

hehe. You'd think they are different eh?

 

They use the SAME programs. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, 3D Studio Max, Maya... all of them are available on Mac and PC. The are differences but not that much to get lost.

[NerfYoda]

More and more games are coming out for the Mac too I've noticed, albeit released later, but still.. its a start. Problem is theyre f*ckin expensive. I've almost got enough money to get mine. A few more months of savings...

[SPY_jmr1]

well, good news is comming, I read a thing(wish I could remember where) that said that mac is going to start useing a x86 type hardware setup, vs. the PowerPC motarolas they have now.

 

it was somthing like, mac os X would not mind much, as it is unix based, and would run on x86 with little effort.

 

this sounds good to me, I have loved mac's hardware for a long time, but the lack of software has kept me useing beage boxes;)

 

btw, jac, I am telling all the admins, is the PM system fixed???

[NerfYoda]

From what I read they did develop os x for the x86 platform, but its a "secret".

[teutonicknight]

Yeah, I'm getting into graphics and video, so I'm starting to use a mac. I WANT A iPOD!!!!!

[BCanr2d2]

The MAC OS on a PC structure has been a "rumour" for quite some time, and I wouldn't be surprised that it is the same for a Windows OS. After all, Win 2K was a beginning of the use of more of a UNIX base as well.

 

I think maybe in OS 11 or 12 we might have a legit MAC OS on a PC structure. I wouldn't be surprised that a build of 11 is run inhouse by Apple, even if they have OS X running on a PC, before unleashing it. Nothing worse for them if they rushed it out and had all kinds of compatibility problems........

 

That would make for an interesting software battle, especially if both OS's could cross from one platform to the other. With the Win OS, they used to do Alpha and SPARC versions for NT - never bothered to check Win2000 and Win XP cds for alternative versions, so isn't a stretch for multi-platform.....

[Who Knows?]

You probably don't want an Imac. The video card is not upgradable, and the only expansion is ram and an airport card. You may not be gaming any on the mac but you still may want the upgradability.

 

As far as graphics programs go, I don't ever remember Studio Max 3d coming out for mac but the other programs you mentioned are some of the most common mac apps I believe.

 

As far as aliases(shortcuts) go the file menu should have the option (along with the command-m mentioned earlier). Note that this is in mac os 9 and below.

I'm writing this on my mac.

 

BTW-While not really a huge feature the mac port of JO will feature higher resolution cut-scenes. (Reminds me of old school LA games- they typically had a special mac only feature, like the original DF and High Res. graphics)