From alpoulin at cox.net Sat Aug 18 09:29:42 2007 From: alpoulin at cox.net (Al Poulin) Date: Sat Aug 18 09:30:40 2007 Subject: [X-Newbies] Replicating Panther Mail into Tiger Mail Message-ID: Problem: I use Pop mail and do not invest in Apple's .mac. I understand that Tiger Mail and Panther Mail are not alike. To use Mail from our Panther machine on my Tiger machine, I need to "import." Panther runs our main desktop, a QuickSilver G4/733 MHz. My Tiger box is an iBook G4/1.33 GHz. I use the iBook as one of my backup places for the desktop's Users Folder. The iBook "imported" mail once at setup time, and since then I've allowed the Inbox to load up with 5,500 messages. On occasion, I need to update Mail on the Tiger iBook to match the Panther desktop. Panther Mail uses two accounts and has two layers of subfolders to the main's user folders. Please tell me if I found a good plan. (1) Copy the Mail Folder from Panther's User's Home>Library, about 708 MB, to the Tiger's desktop. (2) Remove Mail Folder from Tiger's User's Home>Library and put in a safe place. (3) Remove com.apple.mail.plist from Tiger's User's Home>Library>Preferences and put in a safe place. (4) Launch Tiger's Mail. Hopefully, I'll see the "Welcome to Mail" window and proceed to allow it to "Import." Did I miss anything? My clue to doing this is that in a user account on the Tiger machine where nothing has been launched, there is no Mail folder in Home>Library, and there is no com.apple.mail.plist. In the Admin account, where there is no mail content, but where I launched Mail, getting the "Welcome..." window but going no further, there is a Home>Library>Mail Folder with only two items: MessageRules.plist and its backup. Thanks for a sanity check, Al Poulin From jwarms at mac.com Sat Aug 18 16:26:00 2007 From: jwarms at mac.com (Jon Warms) Date: Sat Aug 18 16:26:17 2007 Subject: [X-Newbies] OSX Newbie question In-Reply-To: <20070818163043.639FB137E616@listserver.themacintoshguy.com> References: <20070818163043.639FB137E616@listserver.themacintoshguy.com> Message-ID: <35E899C3-C101-47B4-AD0C-5FED97029FE5@mac.com> This is intended philosophically, or as a caution - especially on a newbie board - I have no specific knowledge about the programs Randy recommended. I treat add-ons and little programs with a very jaundiced eye, especially where the program involves basic OS operations. I know that many add-on utilities do have proven track records and fulfill many users' needs. But in many years of PC computing (Mac and otherwise) there have been many instances of inexplicable machine happenings that I spent a lot of time correcting, only to find out they were side-effects of apparently unrelated programs I had added. I have seen postings on this board and related boards from users describing weird events, and then a posting three days later saying how the event was caused by some shareware ditty the poster had added. And I consider the source of the add-on. Many utilities don't get enough usage and little enough reporting so bugs aren't general knowledge. Programs by vendors like Apple, Adobe, and Microsoft are universally used, and their problems are rapidly disseminated. But I'm not that confident about programs from most other sources. If I need a program to fix a problem, then I've got to find a solution. But I'd rather work-around a problem than be a beta tester for some garage-based author. Jon On Aug 18, 2007, "Randy B. Singer" wrote: > On Jul 17, 2007, at 9:46 AM, Don wrote: > >> Hey how the heck do I get a trashcan back where it used >> to be on os9? It must be hiding somewhere in the system >> such that it can be put back on desktop somehow. > > It should be in your Dock, at the far right. > > You can have your trashcan on your desktop instead using: > > WasteBasket (free) > http://homepage.mac.com/andy_spark/ > > Trash X ($10) > http://www.northernsoftworks.com/trashx.html From randy at macattorney.com Sat Aug 18 19:16:14 2007 From: randy at macattorney.com (Randy B. Singer) Date: Sat Aug 18 19:16:18 2007 Subject: [X-Newbies] OSX Newbie question Message-ID: <0642C83C-F5F3-4AE8-B573-D38BC660D513@macattorney.com> On Aug 18, 2007, at 4:26 PM, Jon Warms wrote: > This is intended philosophically, or as a caution - especially on > a newbie board - I have no specific knowledge about the programs > Randy recommended. I'm not sure what post you are referring to. It looks like my last post to this list was a month ago. > I treat add-ons and little programs with a very jaundiced eye, > especially where the program involves basic OS operations. With the advent of OS X, Apple very consciously decided to move away from allowing add-on extensions to the OS that might cause a conflict and a problem. So, well-written OS X add-ons are written as separate applications, with the benefits associated with them being so. The biggest such benefit is that they run in a protected memory space, so if they crash they don't bring down other applications or the OS. One or two companies have been known to add kernel extensions to OS X, and, not surprisingly, these companies' software has a corresponding reputation for instability and for causing damage to your computer. Just about anything from "Norton" or "Symantec", for example. Otherwise, there is little reason to be fearful of installing a program that adds functionality to OS X. > ...I know that > many add-on utilities do have proven track records and fulfill many > users' > needs. But in many years of PC computing (Mac and otherwise) there > have > been many instances of inexplicable machine happenings... > And I consider the source of the add-on. .. Your post sounds much more like something that someone from the Windows side of the aisle, rather than the Mac side of the aisle, would say. Generally, on the PC, shareware is looked at quite suspiciously, both because it might run poorly on your computer, and also because it might contain a Trojan, spyware, or virus. Historically, even before the advent of OS X with its lack of malware and its protected memory, these have not been serious concerns for Mac users. (I often have new Mac switchers tell me that they are afraid to add new software to their Mac because they are afraid of "breaking it"! That sort of fear is unheard of among long-time Mac users.) While it is true that if you are in a work environment where your data and the stability of your computer are paramount, it is a good idea to forgo adding any new software until it has been throughly tested on a separate computer set aside for just this purpose. But I can tell you that this probably really isn't at all necessary for the Macintosh. I've downloaded and tested literally hundreds (probably actually thousands) of shareware products over the years, and I have never suffered a single serious problem from doing so. Macintosh shareware has traditionally be of supremely high quality. I'm at the computer that I entrust my client files to right now, and it has a bunch of software on it from tiny developers, without a single problem from any of it. It's true that some software suffers from bugs and incompatibilities, especially when that software is a 1.0 version. But it is extremely rare that this causes a truly serious problem like data loss or crashing. (Ironically, the exceptions that come to mind came from Apple themselves. OS X 10.3, when first released, had a bug that caused users' FireWire drives to lose data. A similar problem occured with the release of OS X 10.4 and LaCie FireWire drives.) So it is a good idea to hold off on installing newly released software until after you have heard the feedback from other users. (I personally usually wait a month or two before upgrading to a new major version of the Mac OS.) If you are really interested in learning about new software experiences, or software incompatibilities, before installing it yourself, it is not at all hard to find out about this, you can follow these Web sites daily: MacFixIt http://www.macfixit.com Macintouch http://www.macintouch.com But the general paranoia that is rampant among Windows users concerning adding or changing anything on your computer, is simply out of place with regard to the Macintosh. It seems to me that it is especially a bad idea to be promoting FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) on a Mac newbies list. ___________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html ___________________________________________