Help!Know Nothing-given a Mac

[kelly]

Hello Myrna. Here's a Webopedia for Computer terms.

http://www.pcwebopedia.com/TERM/f/floppy_disk.html

http://www.pcwebopedia.com/TERM/C/CD_ROM.html

http://www.pcwebopedia.com/

This place covers PCs. But many of the ideas apply to macs.

About PCs. macs are Personal Computers also of course.

But common usage has made PC only apply to Windows using machines.

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cd/

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/index.htm

[MrsLop]

Evening kelly,

You startled me!  I hadn't seen a post from you for a few hours.  I was about to organize a search party.

Thanks for the links.

I will definitely check them out.  Tomorrow is another day and I will be more alert.

Good Night.

[Gregg]

Your CD-ROM drive is a CD player (for music) and will let you read computer CD's (software, photos, files). You'll need a CD Player program to hear the music, and a photo reader program to view pictures. Apple provides a CD Player, called, curiously, Apple CD Player. Many printers bundle photo readers with their driver software, usually found on a CD. To 'read' computer CD's you just pop 'em in, and click on the resultant icon to see what it contains.

The floppy drive is for those small, hard cased disks, which took over for the larger, literally floppy skinny ones awhile back. Floppy disks are becoming dinosaurs now.

Hope that was what you were looking for.

[MrsLop]

 Morning Gregg,

That is exactly what I needed.  

If I understand you correctly,  even though I have a CD Player and a Floppy, I need the programs to use the CD Player.  Could  the programs already be in my computer?  If so where?

[RobW]

Hi,

Depending on the OS (Operating System) you are using, the music CD player is probably in the applications folder. It may also have an "alias" under the Apple Menu. One other way to find out is to put a music CD in there and when the icon appears, double click on it and see if the CD opens and starts to play.

As others have told you before, don't be afraid to try stuff. The easiest way to learn is to "play", experiment, etc. Short of doing things like hitting it with a hammer, pouring coffee in the CPU box, or letting Bernie in your home --there are few things that can happen that can't be easily fixed.  I think at one time or another all of those things have shown up in posts here at TS.  

Remember, don't be scared of your Mac--it's there to help you--not to rule you!

[MrsLop]

Good Morning Rob,

We did it!  I found it under the Apple Menu and put in a CD I could see the tracking counter moving, but no sound was coming out even though I turned the volume up.  
I went to Monitor and adjusted the sound and voila it's playing my tunes.    

Do you happen to know if I have to keep adjusting the settings on the Monitor?  I recently had to remove the cover and replace the PRAM Battery - 'cause it died.  I thought I had killed it.  Just coincidence, so I was told. Quite the trauma.  Now that I have replaced the PRAM Battery, do you think it will "remember" my settings?

Thanks Again.

[RobW]

Sometimes after the PRAM battery dies some of the settings needs to be reset. They should "stick" after that. Every now you'll get a "gremlin" playing games and you'll have to reset a setting--sometimes a  preference file can get corrupted and you'll have to trash that file and reset the setting. (If we ever have to advise you to trash a preference file, remember that I'm telling you now that's it's a real easy thing to do--as always, somebody here will walk you through it. It'll just be one more part of your Mac education. )

[MrsLop]

Hello Again Rob,

I neglected to ask some important questions:

How do you change CD's?
I can't eject the one that has already played.

How do you turn it off?

Do I need to go back into the Apple Menu to do anything when I have finished listening to my tunes?
 

[kelly]

If you have CD Player running you need to Quit it.

Drag the CD to the Trash Icon.

This will eject it. PC people make fun of this method.

[MrsLop]

Morning kelly,

Ahhh, few things in life are as predictable as your having answers to my questions....

I played with all the click on things and found the one that ejected he CD.

Now, when I chose the Apple CD Player from the Apple Menu a little icon popped onto the screen.

What's it do?

Also, is this an Application or a File?
If an application, can I go into the same Menu from whence it came and do any clicks there?

Is the drag icon and trash method the only way to quit the program? Will it be totally gone using this method?  

[kelly]

Myrna. There's no telling what stuff you have on that old machine.

it will help a lot when you get your books.

As far as I know some very good ones are headed your way.

"A liitle Icon popped onto the screen."

I'm guessing that's the Apple CD Player Icon. I don't know.

Whenever you're in an Application.

You can go to the Apple Menu and Choose "About This ..."

and see what it is and what version it is.

An Application is like a Verb. it does things.

A File is like a Noun. It's a computer object.

Dragging a CD to Trash doesn't Quit an Application it just ejects CDs.

When you drag Files to the Trash they're on their way out.

They're gone when you Empty the Trash.

Too bad I can't see what you're looking at.

We'll just have to do the best we can.

[MrsLop]

kelly,

FYI the Apple CD Player that I have is v 2.0.

When I did the click on
Apple Menu a CD Player appears.  The click on that I needed to eject was the last one before the graphic for the slot - where the CD is inserted.

I went back into the Menu
and read the About etc..
all it did was run the credits for people who "made" the Player.

After I ejected the CD, I simply did a click on the grey bar and clicked again and it vanished - along with its' icon.

I just checked to see if it was still there, (I am getting Paranoid) and that I didn't send it off to CD Player Heaven, and it remains a functioning Application.

By the way, they were  good analogies: verb and noun.  I'll remember those.
 

[Gregg]

MrsLop, there is an important distinction between closing something and quitting. You can close a file, but the program (or application) that opened it will still be active. Active programs use memory, the RAM kind. Your computer only has so much RAM, and might act like it has a little more (virtual RAM) depending on memory settings or programs that "trick" it. If you leave too many programs active, all your available RAM will be in use, and things will slow down.

Now, you may not be working with enough different programs yet for this to become a problem. But, eventually, the computer may refuse to activate another program and a message will advise you to Quit other programs to free up X amount of RAM. To see what programs are active, click on the little figure in the upper right corner of your menu bar. A list will pull down of all the active programs. The "Finder" will always be active, it allows you to see and work with everything else.

If you move your cursor down the list and release the mouse button, the highlighted program becomes active. You can then go the the File menu and select Quit, freeing up some RAM.

I hope that was a help, and not something you've already learned. You're picking this up so quickly, I might be behind the curve.
 

[MrsLop]

Greetings from Soggy Rhode Island Gregg,

You are one of my best sources for complete explanations.

You tell me the why of an action or thing, as well as the how?

I like that about you.

I trust that you had your lunch and that your replies to my musings
 have not prevented this.

I did take the online Tutorial RAM 101 that kelly suppied the link to.  It was very good.

I am looking forward to the arrival of books, supplied by still another TS member, which I'm sure will hold the answers to some of my questions.

Thanks again for the wonderful explanation.

[David]

Hi Myrna

I don't know what other TSers will think of this suggestion but I found just ONE particular book to be extremely useful for quick reference and general guidance.

I have a copy available for you if you wish - albeit I'll have to post it from the U.K. so, it may take a few days.
The copy I have passed its "use by" date when the G4 was introduced.

Perhaps some others here might comment on whether or not
"The Little Mac Book"  by Robin Williams (no, not him, a female version!)
would be of any use to you?

Either way, it's available if you want it.

Regards

David L.