# Bought The Family Pack, Oh No!



## climberdad (Dec 27, 2002)

I bought the family pack (5 user) Jaquar box for the family for Christmas. The sales guy said "you've just got to get it!" As a family of 6 on a year long road trip making rock climbing videos and writing books, we have come to depend heavily on our Apple computers:

Dad: TiBook G4 667MHz / 768MB Ram. I am using Mac OS 9.2 for PS 7.0, GoLive 6.0, FileMaker Pro 6.0, Appleworks 6, and iMovie as my main apps.

Mom: iBook G3 500MB / 576MB Ram. Mac OS 9.1 for Painter 7 and Appleworks 6

Kids: iBook G3 500MHz / 320MB Ram. Mac OS 9.1 for Appleworks 6 and School CDs.

Holy Smokes! Does OS 10.2.3 really suck as bad as you guys make it sound?

What should I do? The box is still sealed. I registered and logged on to this site in order to read up on the new OS, and boy oh boy, was I scared silly.

If I do install it, just load it on the machines as the are currently configured?

Thanks in advance for you comments and suggestions.


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## Dusky (Dec 27, 2002)

OSX is a great system.  I've ran it on an iMac G4 700, an iMac G3 400, and currently using it on an iBook G3 700.

I didn't like the way it handled on the iMac G3 400, to the point that I didn't bother to install it on it, after I erased all data in the iMac.  It runs nicely on my iBook G3 700, though.  To explain the disparate experiences, aside from the megahertz in difference, one must also consider the video card.  My iBook takes advantage of Quarts Extreme, but my iMac G3 didn't -- my iMac's graphics card isn't supported by Jaguar.

Another issue to consider is whether or not the software you use has its OSX version. Check versiontracker.com to find out (make sure you click on the OSX tab before you search).

Although, even if their favorite software doesn't have an OSX version yet, you'd still be able to use those application by invoking Classic.  Both worlds can be experienced.

I just realized that one of my friends is running OSX in an iBook 500 (or 600) and she's got no complains.  Heck, she's doing it with 128MB ram...


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## edX (Dec 27, 2002)

wow, sounds like an exciting life!! as a mac user for close to 20 years, i'll be the first to say that there will be adjustments to be made. once you get the hang of most of these, you'll find that os x works more smoothly than os 9. the big thing you'll be gaining is stability. some apps will occasionally quite, but no more taking the system down with them. you'll notice a little speed drop off on some apps, but see stability and speed both improve on any firewire connected perhipherals you use. idid a lot of back and forth booting while learning my way around, but eventually found that i hated booting back into os 9 unless forced to. and os x wasn't near as nice in those days. 
i wouldn't get too worried about all the iwhiners who think it should perform like a pc except not crash. there are several good threads on this site about os x memory management that explain why some processes are slower but why they are much more stable in return.

you should be able to load as is with current configurations. but you will want to update to 9.2.2 once os x is installed.

and feel free to explore the site and ask questions. we'll glady help you thru the transition period. don't forget, you don't have to give up os 9 to have os x. but i predict that eventually you will find yourself using it very little except for a few favorite little apps that haven't been carbonized. and you'll run those in classic mode rather than rebooting.


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## Giaguara (Dec 27, 2002)

i dont even remember when i tried classic the last time... 

i'm sure you and your family will enjoy jaguar!!!


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## AppMan (Dec 27, 2002)

classic? oh you mean my old Apple //c.  Man I miss the days of floppy swapping.


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## Sogni (Dec 28, 2002)

What you read are really more like "worst case scenarios" where something goes wrong somehow to a small number of people - that seems to be more than it really is only because they're the only ones complaining - the ones that have had no problems are pretty much quiet - me being one of them. And belive me - I am ROUGH on computers! 

Don't be afraid of OS X/Jaguar - if you have any problems we'll help were we can.


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## Cheryl (Dec 28, 2002)

Make sure you check for firmware updates for each machine.


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## fryke (Dec 29, 2002)

Floppy swapping was still part of my Mac Classic experience... On a Mac Plus, disk copying was fun, because of the sound of an ejecting floppy...


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## hulkaros (Dec 29, 2002)

> _Originally posted by climberdad _
> *I bought the family pack (5 user) Jaquar box for the family for Christmas. The sales guy said "you've just got to get it!" As a family of 6 on a year long road trip making rock climbing videos and writing books, we have come to depend heavily on our Apple computers:
> 
> Dad: TiBook G4 667MHz / 768MB Ram. I am using Mac OS 9.2 for PS 7.0, GoLive 6.0, FileMaker Pro 6.0, Appleworks 6, and iMovie as my main apps.
> ...



No, Mac OS X.2.3 doesn't suck! On the contrary it is a great OS... Maybe NOT that easy or mature (!?) as OS 9.x.x but it IS a great OS.

My only answer to the question that if it sucks or no, is YES: LOTS of resources: You will need at least 256 MB to play with it nice... As a testament to this matter I installed it in some G3/400 with/without DVD-ROM and it run just fine at least when the RAM pumped in 256 MB or more... However, with 256 MB the G3/400 played the DVD and had 2 or 3 apps doing their things just fine! This was not possible under OS 9.x.x!

However, it seems that your systems will be just fine with it because you have more than 256 MB RAM so go for it and if you have ANY problems/questions with it just come here and the nice people of macosx.com will gladly help you!  

And yes, you will need some adaptation period to get used to its ways of handling things but my guess is that you will come on top with no problems at all and then you will thank us for telling you to make the switch... If stability and multitasking is your game then OS X.2.3 will be more than enough for your family  

As for people telling here and there that isn't a nice OS my guess is that they may not be able to adapt to its ways of doing things or simply like to whine about something all the time, be it OS X or Apple in general...  

Go for it... GO!


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## dlloyd (Dec 29, 2002)

Well, where is he?


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## Cheryl (Dec 29, 2002)

busy installing.


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## Dusky (Dec 29, 2002)

> Well, where is he?



Trying to get through kernel panics!

Hmm.  He was hesitant to upgrade to MacOS X at first, and then he was told things would be okay.  Lets say he was convinced. Wouldn't it be freaky if his worst nightmare came true?  Eek...


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## climberdad (Jan 1, 2003)

OK, first allow me to say "Thank you" to all of you for your helpful posts.

Next, this OS (10.2) ROCKS!

Now...if I had known that 10.2.3 (the latest) would have been a 6 hour download on my $6/hr. Earthlink dial-up account (we are currently in ButtF*ck, British Columbia-almost off the map, hence the 800# dial-up), I would have put it off. But I didn't, and it solved what issues I was having with the switch.

This is awesome!!!!!

Questions:

1. Can I move stuff around like I used to?

2. After I install OS X versions of my software, just delete the old ones from my Applications (OS9) folder?

Thanks again, wooo hooo!

Rick Boyle


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## edX (Jan 1, 2003)

1. hard to know exactly what you mean here, but certain apps are expected to be in the applications folder. mostly apple apps. if you move them to other folders, you might have troubles updating. also, if you have apps directly on your harddrive's main or 'root' level, you may have problems deleting them without doing something called 'enabling root'.  but basically drag and drop works better than it ever did if that is what you are asking. 
2. for most apps, yes. toast still checks for certain things in os 9 i believe if os 9 is on the mac.  it's never a bad idea to keep an os 9 version of certain important apps in case you were to ever be forced to use it due to some unforseen problem. but for the most part, the answer to your question is yes.


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## Cheryl (Jan 1, 2003)

I wouldn't delete the Mac OS 9 App's until you have the equal installed in OS X. 
Print Shop only works in Classic. A scanner will not work in X.  And there are some games like Apeiron or the Hoyle Card games that are not ported for X.


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## ~~NeYo~~ (Jan 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Cheryl _
> *. A scanner will not work in X.  *



NO scanner's @ all?!


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## Sogni (Jan 2, 2003)

*Looks at his Epson Perfection 1240U Photo and can't remember when was the last time he scanned in OS9*  
Works fine for me.


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## xaqintosh (Jan 2, 2003)

some scanners do, some scanners don't.


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## ~~NeYo~~ (Jan 2, 2003)

Oh! i was getting worried then! 

<< nearly held onto my Peecee for a moment! ... ok, i'll be cautious 2 make sure the next scanner i get is 10.2 compatible


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## hulkaros (Jan 3, 2003)

The majority of scanners from big players out there work just fine under X.2.3!

And when they don't you GOT to give a shot at VueScan (www.versiontracker.com/macosx/) which most probably will solve your scanning problems    more or less


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## edX (Jan 3, 2003)

unless it's a umax usb


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## fryke (Jan 3, 2003)

It's just sad. UMAX was once big in the Mac business, they even sold Mac clones back then... And now they've all but abandoned our beloved platform... Well, screw them, buy Canon.


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