New to imac. Looking for a little advice

[reece]

So we just got an imac. I've searched around but I still need a couple of nudges in the right direction. So, here is what I know so far:

xACT to replace TLH and EAC

Cog replaces foobar2K

vlc (seems to work better now than on my PC)

Audacity

Toast - What is the best free equivalent until I can buy Toast?

Okay. I'm having trouble with a BT client. I've tried Transmission, Tomato and the official client. I think I like the official best but none will allow selecting individual files for downloading. I also tried azureus but it only bounces that frog in my dock, and then it disappears.


DVD43 - Is there a comparable program for mac?

CD Wave - anything that splits on sector boundaries for mac?

DVD Shrink - any equivalent?

Anyone have experience with the .mac membership? Is it worth it and why?


Thanks in advance.

[U2Lynne]

I use Azureus for my BT client. I have an 800 MHz G4 with only 768 MB RAM, so if you have a more recent mac (I think mine is three years old), you should have no problems running it. It will allow you to select individual tracks.

MissingMediaBurner is an alternative to Toast, however I think I read it doesn't work for OS 10.4, but I'm not positive.

Popcorn (by Roxio - they make Toast, Jam, and Popcorn ) would shrink a video for burning. But, I think Toast 7 incorporates Popcorn and will shrink the video now.

[reece]

Thanks Lynne.

Azureus won't do anything for me. I download it, then click the .dmg file and the frog shows up. I click on a torrent file and the frog bounces in my dock and nothing else happens. Does this sound familiar? I can't open it to change preferences or anything. From what I hear, Azureus is what I need but there is something I'm not doing properly, I guess.

[U2Lynne]

When you opened the dmg, did you then drag Azureus to your applications folder? You don't want to launch it from the dmg. And then, for some reason, in the latest version, if you double-click the torrent file, it will not start up in Azureus. You need to open Azureus and then drag the torrent file to the top of the window. They must have broken something in the last release because it used to work correctly.

[saltman]

traitor. you have forsaken all of us.

[reece]

Originally Posted by saltman

traitor. you have forsaken all of us.

[walter2]

yes, toast 7 incorporates popcorn, look on eBay for like toast 6 and popcorn, i think theyre real cheap.

DVD Shrink - any equivalent? yes, get "mac the ripper"

and as far as the .mac, ive never had it, but it sure looks like a waste of $99 to me!

[Chachi420]

if the 'frog' icon for azureus bounces on mac, then that might just be the only reason that I'd want to switch to mac!

[U2Lynne]

Originally Posted by Chachi420

if the 'frog' icon for azureus bounces on mac, then that might just be the only reason that I'd want to switch to mac!

All the dock icons can 'bounce' on a mac when the application is opening or needs your attention.

[walter2]

though if it bounces in your dock, nothing happens, and it doesnt show a little triangle under it when its done bouncing, youve got problems.... it happened to me with xACT, i got the newest version, and that happened to me, turned out that the newest version is for OSX 10.4, whereas im running 10.3.9, therefore the newest version wouldnt work, i went and found an earlier version of the program and it worked fine.

So, that program might not be supported at all or possibly, check the specs on what youre running against what the program says its built for and you may just need to upgrade/downgrade the version youre trying to use

[reece]

Thanks for the advice Walter.

It seems to be a problem azureus is having with the intel macs. There are a few versions here for intel macs.

I used the universal binary. I had some problems at first. It would close itself, I'd get an error message with the option to reopen. Then it would happen again, I then get the option to retry. This happened a few times and then it just started working. Then I realized there were other versions on that site.

[U2Lynne]

So you finally got Azureus to work? Good! It's by far the best mac client.

So, what other types of software do you need recommendations for?

[reece]

Originally Posted by U2Lynne

So you finally got Azureus to work? Good! It's by far the best mac client.

So, what other types of software do you need recommendations for?

One thing I haven't figured out is how to get these icons (azureus, cog, etc) off of the desktop. I dragged them to the applications folder but it only puts a shortcut there.

Is there software that will play 24 bit, or higher, audio files, and does the mac support 24 bit playback?

Does Toast handle decryption or do I need something separate?

Do you use Safari or is there something better?

Do I need firewall and antivirus software?

[U2Lynne]

Originally Posted by reece

One thing I haven't figured out is how to get these icons (azureus, cog, etc) off of the desktop. I dragged them to the applications folder but it only puts a shortcut there.

Perhaps the icons on the desktop are shortcuts themselves? Do an apple key + i (info) on them. It should say whether it is an application or a shortcut. If they are just shortcuts, then you can throw them away. I like to keep Azureus and Cog in my dock since I use them often (when you have them up and running, do a control + click on them (or right click if you have a two button mouse) and then you can say 'keep in dock'.

Originally Posted by reece

Is there software that will play 24 bit, or higher, audio files, and does the mac support 24 bit playback?

I have no idea. I've always just used cog and iTunes to play the files I have.

Originally Posted by reece

Does Toast handle decryption or do I need something separate?

Again, I don't know. I just use Toast to burn CDs and DVDs, nothing else.

Originally Posted by reece

Do you use Safari or is there something better?

I use firefox because I just Looooooovvvveeeee the extensions for it.

Originally Posted by reece

Do I need firewall and antivirus software?

My router acts as a firewall, so I have my System firewall off and I don't use any anitivirus protection.

[reece]

Originally Posted by U2Lynne

Perhaps the icons on the desktop are shortcuts themselves? Do an apple key + i (info) on them. It should say whether it is an application or a shortcut. If they are just shortcuts, then you can throw them away. I like to keep Azureus and Cog in my dock since I use them often (when you have them up and running, do a control + click on them (or right click if you have a two button mouse) and then you can say 'keep in dock'.


I have no idea. I've always just used cog and iTunes to play the files I have.


Again, I don't know. I just use Toast to burn CDs and DVDs, nothing else.


I use firefox because I just Looooooovvvveeeee the extensions for it.


My router acts as a firewall, so I have my System firewall off and I don't use any anitivirus protection.

I did the 'keep in dock' but the are still on the desktop. 'get info' says it is a 'volume,' while the shortcuts in the applications folder are called 'alias.'

So, will Toast copy officially released DVDs that are 'copy protected?' DVD43 would get around the copy protection so I could back-up the ones I purchased (using Nero or whatever).

What are these extensions for firefox?