X86 MAC Questions

[tuteja1986]

Okay my sister needs a new computer and i was thinking of buying her MAC MINI but then i haven't used OSX much.

Does X86 MAC have
MSN Messenger :?
What type of Internet browser do you recommend for MAC X86 ?
Can MAC X86 OS communicate with windows network and access Video/Music/Data threw the network ?
Any good Video codec pack for DVIX / XVID .. ect
What Video player do you recommend for MAC X86 ?

 

[Tsaico]

To tell you the truth, I have had only a minor experience with MacOSX and all the stuff built into it seems to be pretty good. The software integration is pretty smooth, so I would imagine, out of the box , she would be good to go with almost everything that you asked. The divx home page has a mac version that is pretty good. It also has just codecs if you want to use the built in media player in OS X or you can download the player also if you like their interface better. (I do in both PC and Mac versions) and as for the messenger, Messenger for Mac

I think the biggest problem she would have is accessing the data networks, depending on how lazy or not the admins are. the Mac OS should be able to at least file veiw, but it doesn't tell you if you have the app or not to run it, so a non-tech person might be easily ocnfused on what she can open or not. Most of the music and video though, she should be able to do just fine. I beleive most of the WMA don't work in the native built in stuff though, so you may have to download this, MS Media PLayer for mac

But other than picking the right app to run whatever it is she is trying to do, she should be good to go. Plus it is pretty sleek unit that fits well on a desk.

 

[dnuggett]

I'm not sure what Tsaico is saying about network communication, but those probs went away with 10.1. It's is very easy to drop an OSX machine in a Windows environment. You could access anything you could with a windows machine. You just need to find an app to run it.. that's no different than being off the network. There isn't a problem with OSX and a Windows environment (at least not for your purposes).

 

[stash]

Mac is not an acronym.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: tuteja1986
Okay my sister needs a new computer and i was thinking of buying her MAC MINI but then i haven't used OSX much.

Does X86 MAC have
MSN Messenger :?

You can download it from MSN, or use something like Fire.app (which is like Trillian or Gaim).

What type of Internet browser do you recommend for MAC X86 ?

Safari or Camino. You can use firefox or seamonkey, but they're slow.

Can MAC X86 OS communicate with windows network and access Video/Music/Data threw the network ?

Yes, even over Windows network shares.

Any good Video codec pack for DVIX / XVID .. ect

DVIX might work, although they seem to be slow releasing for Mac/PPC.

What Video player do you recommend for MAC X86 ?

Quicktime, VLC, and Mplayer.

It's Mac, MAC is related to a network card.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Tsaico
I think the biggest problem she would have is accessing the data networks, depending on how lazy or not the admins are. the Mac OS should be able to at least file veiw, but it doesn't tell you if you have the app or not to run it, so a non-tech person might be easily ocnfused on what she can open or not.

😕

I beleive most of the WMA don't work in the native built in stuff though, so you may have to download this, MS Media PLayer for mac

They no longer suppor that. There is a link somewhere to wmv support for quicktime. VLC also works just fine most of the time.

 

[stash]

It's Mac, MAC is related to a network card.

Or an access control system 😉

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: stash

It's Mac, MAC is related to a network card.

Or an access control system 😉

That too, but I think that terminology is less common 'round these parts.

 

[stash]

That too, but I think that terminology is less common 'round these parts.

For shame 🙂

j/k

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: stash

That too, but I think that terminology is less common 'round these parts.

For shame 🙂

j/k

I keep waiting for a good thread on PaX/GRE vs. SELinux vs. LIDS in the forum, but I haven't done enough research into them lately to start one myself. 😛

 

[Tsaico]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: Tsaico
I think the biggest problem she would have is accessing the data networks, depending on how lazy or not the admins are. the Mac OS should be able to at least file veiw, but it doesn't tell you if you have the app or not to run it, so a non-tech person might be easily ocnfused on what she can open or not.

😕

I beleive most of the WMA don't work in the native built in stuff though, so you may have to download this, MS Media PLayer for mac

They no longer suppor that. There is a link somewhere to wmv support for quicktime. VLC also works just fine most of the time.

The plugin is at the bottom... sorry forgot to mention that...

Or if you are lazy...
WMP plugin for Quicktime