andyenglish

Hi all!
Please bear with me as it has been a long time (since the IIe) since I've regularly used a Mac. I guess you could call me a convert, except I still love my PC! For what it's worth, I've known for a long time that Mac OS is more elegant and functional than any PC OS. (My personal preference was always Workbench on the Amiga!)
Anyway, a few questions (OSX 4.2):
1. Norton Antivirus (cringe all you want; I like Norton) comes up with an error upon reboot: "Norton AntiVirus AutoProtect could not continue. Please reinstall Norton... and restart." I have reinstalled several times, to no effect. The program itself works fine: scanning, locating problematic files, quarantine, etc., just not the AutoProtect upon startup (important, I think). Any ideas.
2. Also upon reboot: "Classic Startup found no system folder on the boot volume from which to start Classic." OS9 is installed (at least it says it is when I try to reinstall). What is going on here? I have at least 2 programs I'd like to run in OS9.
3. Is there a comparable "uninstall" function on the Mac, or does simply deleting the program files from the Applications folder do the Uninstall job?
4. Dumb question: Is font installation as simple as dragging fonts into the Library fonts folder? Can I use TrueType fonts and MS Windows fonts on the Mac?
5. How do I make each newly opening window start maximized? Is there a setting somewhere that will cause all windows to open maximized?
6. Not to be insulting or anything, but why is Chess the only game offered on the -factory- iBook? I would like a decent freeware Solitaire game, as well as other standard "time-wasters" like Tetris (clones), Sudoku (U-no-clue), and the like. Any suggestions from you well-travelled Mackies?
7. Along the same lines, I would also like to find a DVD processor/burner/ripper like Nero for the Mac. Suggestions?
8. Last question (for now): What do you all think about Microsoft Word for Mac? Does it work well? Does it import/export well?
Thanks for all your great knowledge and your time!
-Andy

sinclair_tm

1) why on earth do you need norton on a mac? what does it find? as of today, there are no real things that you as a mac user need to worry about. and for that reason, i'm sorry to say, never used it, and have no clue how it works, other than i know people who's macs have been more messed up for having it, then for never using it. all i can suggest is going to their site and seeing if they have a solution to the error. experience has been in general that that kind of error is due to version incompatibility. make sure norton is up to date. also, i see that your os is out of date too, so 1st thing you should do is run software updater and make sure all your apple software is current.
2) what apps are you running in classic? wee may be able to find an os x version that works. but if you'd like the other apps, then the 1st thing you need to do is find where the os 9 system folder is on your ibook. then you can open the system preferences, goto the classic pane, and tell it where the classic os is, and it will work from then on. while there in the classic pref pane, i'd set classic not to start with the computer, as that really slows down startup, and hogs system resources when not in use. i have mine set to launch only if i click on a classic app, and so it only loads if i need it.
3) as for uninstalling mac apps, 1st, run the installer again, if it had an installer, and alot of times, there will be a pull down menu with standard install/custon install/uninstall. just select uninstall and it'll yank the app of. if not, then just dragging it to the trash will uninstall the app.
4) short=a. yes and no. b. true type-yes, windows-some. long=a.there are four places the the os looks for fonts on the mac. 1st is the system font folder, where everyone can use. 2nd is any os 9 system folders, again, for everyone. 3rd is in the user's font folders, where only the current user can use them. 4th, an app's font folder, where only that app can use them. and truth is there are a couple of other places, but i can't think of them right now. so if you want everyone to be able to use them, then add them to the font folder at the root level. if you want to be the only one to use them, add then to the font folder in your home directory. b.almost all true type fonts will work on the mac, as will many windows fonts. the only real way to know is to add then to the font folder and start up an app and see if they show up. just be careful, if you try to use a bad font, it can crash the whole system.
5) depends on the app. some apps have setting for new windows. other will remember the setting of the last window open, and then open any new windows to the same. so open a new window, click on the green dot in the upper left, and if that doesn't make it as big as you want, stretch the window by hand, the close the window. if neither of those work, just make a habit out of click on the green dot.
6) because macs are not gaming computers. that and there are tons of freeware, or shareware games out there. a good place to start is apple's download site. just click on the apple in the upper left, goto "mac os x software..." and safari will open to the site. then in the column on the left, click on games, and see if there is anything that strikes your fancy. one of my faves is deimos rising. one of these days, i'll buy it so that i can have more then just the demo.
7) for disk burning, i have found the os, and ilife apps, to cover every need i've had. but if thats not enough, her is really only one thing then, and thats toast. i have used different versions of toast in the past, and its the best mac burning software there is.
8) again, i never have used it, as i've never liked word. also there are too many great cheaper apps, and even free ones, that get the job done as well as word. but the mac word is suppose to be 100% compatible with the windows one. well, minus office 2007 now that its out. but you having an ibook, which is a powerpc based mac, it should of come with appleworks 6. yes its a rather old app, but i still use it for all my 'office' needs, and its much better integrated than the ms office apps. there are also free ones like openoffice, or the aqua gui port neooffice. there are some other paying word like apps out there, but i have never used them, and can't remember what they are called.
9) well, um. oh wait, is that all? feel free to ask if you have anymore questions, but try to break them up, that it might be easier for others with a similar question or problem to learn.

andyenglish

Thanks for all the GREAT info sinclair_tm! I'll print that out and start working on those items. About your #9, should I have posted 8 different threads? (Or at least combine like items, I guess.) Again, thanks! -Andy

sinclair_tm

it would have been better, but i'll let you slide, this time