davidcoxell

I'm thinking of getting an iMac 2.4. Would it be possible to network this with my old G4 and transfer maybe Word across, along with work files etc?

sinclair_tm

Yes, you can network them, and transfer files over. As for the program, I'm not sure if Word is one of the apps that cn be moved. Microsoft trnds to put parts of their programs all over the place, instead of keeping everything in one package like most Mac apps. Once you have the Macs netorked, you can run the Migration Assitant and tell it to transfer files and programs over, and it may work.

davidcoxell

Thanks - that sounds encoouraging. Is networking easy for a non-nerd? Seem to remember that networking software comes as standard, in the form of AppleTalk? It can't be as easy as just sticking a USB cable between them?!?

One of my other problems was backing up files on the old machine. Presumably this would be taken care of by using Time Machine or whatever it's called.

BTW I can't believe that Macs aren't supplied with Word as standard, much as I detest the evil empire.

sinclair_tm

The best thing to do is to get a firewire cable to stick between the two Macs, using Target-Disk mode. The easiest thing would be to set up the new Mac next to your old one, but don't turn it on yet. Now plug the firewire cable between the two Macs. Start up your G4 and hold the t key and once the firewire icon is showing, start the iMac. Because the iMac is new, it will go through a Welcome to Mac/OS X thingy that helps you set up your new Mac before going to the desktop. Part of that will offer to transfer files over from an older computer. Tell it you want to and it should then give options for transferring over files and programs.
As for Word, it's not owned by Apple, nor is Apple or Microsoft wanting to make deals to have Word come on Macs, as Apple wants you to buy iWork. Personally, I use NeoOffice which is a OS X version of OpenOffice.org. It's free and opens and saves Microsoft Office documents.