Installing Leopard onto a G4 from an Intel Mac
From Meghan Lewis following up on G4 Quicksilver and Big Hard Drives:
Dan,
Thanks for the reply. I tried using my G4 as a target disk to
install Leopard, but I got an error saying the partition scheme needed
to be GUID and not APM. I think the disks were model-only/Intel Mac
only so I might just have to fork over a bit more to get Leopard on
this machine as well as my MacBook Pro. I could make a disk image
though, not sure if that would work.
Do you have any more suggestions? I do appreciate your help here. My
Google searches haven't really turned up anything...
Thanks!
Meghan
Meghan,
I'm not a Leopard user yet, but it's my understanding
that the Leopard installer creates a universal installation that will
boot PowerPC and Intel Macs. Problem is, Intel Macs only want to
install Leopard on GUID partitions, not the older APM format that
PowerPC Macs require.
If I were in your situation, I'd create a disk image
on your MacBook Pro, install Leopard to it, and then copy that disk
image to your G4 Power Mac. I'd also have at least two bootable
partitions or drives on each of my Macs, which would let you run Tiger
and use Disk Utility, Carbon Copy Cloner, or SuperDuper to clone the
Leopard installation from the disk image to a partition you didn't boot
Tiger from. (Alternative: Boot into Tiger from the installer or an
external hard drive.)
I'd then boot from the Leopard partition and use
Migration Assistant to copy over all of my applications and files.
Dan
Dan,
Thank you so much for all your help. I was successful in getting my
Quickie upgraded to Leopard. It's a tad bit sluggish, but not much more
than on Tiger. I think in some instances it might actually be faster.
However, to upgrade I did end up buying a Leopard install disc and
using Leopard assist. I know, it's silly when I have a copy with my new
MacBook; it was just not working in that way. At least now I have a
backup just in case.
Now to convince the powers that be that it would be worth it to
upgrade at work . . . I'm on Panther at work!
Thanks again for the help!
Meghan
Meghan,
Well, if you have a Tiger install disc and don't
currently have it installed on another Mac, the license terms allow you
to install it on another Mac. Of course, you'll need permission from
the IT department....
Dan
Apple vs. Windows Keyboard Layout
From Tim Larson:
Paul Gronke wrote, "Apple's
keyboard setup has the least used keys on the outside, where they are
most accessible to your pinkie, and the most used keys on the
inside."
I don't know about him, but I think the pinkie is the least
dexterous and thus least useful finger to type with. It's bad enough
that it has so much work to do on the right side of the keyboard. In my
experience, Apple keyboards and the Mac OS are much easier to use
because I can so easily hit Command - and even chord Command+Option -
with a thumb! For most Mac OS operations, this suffices.
Whether I use Mac OS or Windows, I always end up taking a hand off
the keyboard to use the Ctrl key because it is a clumsy reach. Real
Unix machine keyboards, which, like Windows, use Ctrl as the primary
modifier key, often place Ctrl where Caps Lock usually is. This makes
Ctrl less of a difficulty to use.
All around I think it's hard to deny that use of Ctrl in Windows was
a bad UI decision.
Thanks,
Tim
Tim,
The original IBM PC keyboard layout.
Thanks for writing. At least we can't blame Microsoft
for this one: The Control key on the original IBM PC (above) and the
later IBM AT (below) keyboards had the Control key to the left of A,
where Caps Lock appears today. Alt was to the left of the space bar,
Caps Lock to the right. Improvements included a larger Enter key and
space between the space bar and the Alt and Caps Lock keys.
The IBM AT keyboard layout.
A lot of things changed when IBM introduced the
101-key keyboard (below) with the PS/2 series of computers in 1987. The
keyboard was the same one IBM had used with its RT PC, a Unix machine,
and very little has changed since then. As I look at the Logitech
keyboard I use, the only changes have been adding an Option key between
Ctrl and Alt and a Windows key between Option and Ctrl on the right.
(This was the same year Apple introduced the Apple Extended Keyboard, which is very
similar at first glance.)
IBM's 101-key keyboard layout.
The worst thing about this layout is that it's too
easy to hit Caps Lock by mistake and end up typing in ALL CAPS. That
key should be moved to a less accident prone location. It also explains
why keys like Home and End on PC keyboards do Unix-y things, since IBM
originally developed this keyboard for Unix.
I suppose we really can't blame Microsoft for picking
Ctrl and Alt as its primary modifier keys, as earlier PCs didn't have
an Option key. Using the key next to the space bar as the primary
modifier would have made more sense. That's what Apple chose to do.
Dan
For more on IBM keyboard layout, see Comments on the Keyboard of
the IBM PC.
Time to Buy a DSLR
From Mark Sartor after reading Digital SLRs Are Affordable
Enough to Replace 35mm SLRs:
Dan,
That was one of the best articles I've read in a long time
. . . summarizing what's out there in DSLR and comparing it
to SLRs of long ago....
I was a photog in the Navy (69-72) and haven't bought DSLR due to
excessive costs. I may pop for the Evolt now! Thanks!
- Mark
Mark,
Thanks for the kind words. I had to do the research
yesterday, since I really haven't paid attention to the DSLR scene
since Canon upgraded the Digital Rebel the first time. I had one of
those for a year or two, purchased used, and sold it because it was too
bulky for everyday use - and too expensive to sit on the shelf.
The only real drawback to the 4/3 System is the image
proportions: a 4:3 ratio, which doesn't scale to a 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10
enlargement without some cropping. 11x14 is about the only standard
enlargement size that will use most of the frame. With 4x6 the standard
snapshot size and both TVs and computer monitors going widescreen, it's
a shame they abandoned the 3:2 ratio used by 35mm cameras and DSLRs for
so many years.
In terms of price and size, I find the Evolt 400
series very attractive.
Dan
Helpful DSLR Advice
From Steve Lubliner:
The big drawback - and the reason I sold my DSLR a
couple years ago - is size. DLSRs from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony
tend to be as big as 35mm SLR camera. Cameras in the 4/3 System tend to
be smaller, and Olympus bills the E-410 and E-420 as the world's
thinnest and smallest DSLRs.
In the end, we have several competing systems, each
with a range of lenses and camera bodies, all of them capable of
producing top notch photos with the responsiveness we've long expected
from SLR cameras. Read the online reviews. Put your hands on them in
the local photo shop. Only you can decide what meets your needs.
Hi Dan,
To me the size of the DSLR is an advantage. I agree that the size of
a DSLR system can be a drawback for portability. I was uncomfortable
using my daughter's Canon A560 point and shoot. I find the larger
bodies more comfortable and steadier to hold. Also, the size of the
body tends to be less significant when you throw a powerful flash unit
on top and a long zoom on the front.
Your advice to put "hands on" is well founded. Most of the major
systems are of high quality. I find the handling to be more critical,
things like control placement, eye relief, function displays, and hand
grips. Unfortunately the local photo shop is a dying breed. Here in
Tucson the local independent photo store did not have any of the major
prosumer bodies on the shelf (nor much of anything else). Best Buy had
the best selection, but they were shy on prosumer models and the help
was no better than "point and shoot". Only Kits camera had a reasonable
selection and knowledge of the products but did not carry Olympus last
time I shopped there.
Steve Lubliner
Steve,
Some things you can buy sight unseen - hard drives,
memory sticks, printer ink, books, CDs, and the like. But for things
like cameras, handling it yourself should be a big part of the
selection process.
I'm leaning toward a 3 model camera strategy: a
pocketable snapshot camera, something larger and more flexible that
won't weigh you down, and someday a DSLR. For serious work, I don't
mind the weight, but for everyday use, I prefer a smaller camera.
Dan
One More Nikon D60 Feature
From Bryan Lepine:
Hi,
Nice article, but there is one small correction.
The D60 comes with a VR lens. The D40 on Amazon does not.
Regards,
Bryan
Bryan,
Thanks for the correction. Vibration reduction is a
very nice feature. I'm updating the article to note its presence on the
D60's standard zoom.
Dan
Limitations of Olympus Mount Adapter
From John Hatchett:
Dan -
As a long time analog photographer as well as a retail store
manager, I thought I could just share a few tidbits with you. The new
Olympus 4/3 System has an adapter for old analog Olympus mount lenses.
There are lots of caveats, however. Not every f-stop is usable, and
auto exposure functions are compromised. What this does mean is that my
last excuse for not switching to digital is gone. Still, it's hard to
give up my Olympus OM-4, with its multi-spot metering.
John
John,
Yeah, the OM-4 was a gem. I owned an OM-1 for a while,
but I found it uncomfortably small for my hands and returned to the
Minolta fold with an X-700, one of the finest consumer SLRs ever in the
pre-autofocus era.
Dan
Dan Knight has been publishing Low
End Mac since April 1997. Mailbag columns come from email responses to his Mac Musings, Mac Daniel, Online Tech Journal, and other columns on the site.
