Couple of questions

[eb075]

Hi All,
This is my 1st post here. I've just bought a new iMAC after many years as a pc user. I have to say, I now understand the allure - the simplicity of software such as iPhoto, iMovie etc is so clever for the average home user. The only criticism so far is that it has confirmed my feelings for many years, that it is not easy to find software -ie Harvey Normans, EB, Dick Smith etc., etc.

Anyway, I'm glad I've got it and a couple of questions if I could. I see that if I import photos into iPhoto, the program creates a large file of several gigabytes. Does this file actually contain the photos themselves. IE., after importing could I delete the original JPG files from the hard disc. A similar program in the pc world would probably create a database file that references the JPG's whereas it looks like iPhoto creates one that actually contains copies of the files - am i right?

Secondly, one of my hobbies on the pc was dabbling in programming, purely as an amateur. A bit of looking around has led me to references to a program called Cocoa. Is this the primary program for writing MAC programs? If so, the one thing I've had trouble sourcing, is where do I get the damn thing? Is it a program I have to purchase from somewhere, or is it a free download etc?

Hope you can help and, as a MAC virgin, I hope you don't mind me probing your collective experiences as I'm SURE I'm gonna have more questions as I get used to the system.

Thanks,
eb075

[Disko]

There is absolutely heaps of mac software out there. The major retailers in Australia just don't bother stocking it. Head to Apple resellers, or even online to look for software. http://macupdate.com is a great database of Mac software/freeware/shareware that I use all the time.

Right-click on that iPhoto library, and choose 'show package contents'. You'll see it's just a folder structure underneath. Messing about in there could break your iPhoto Library, however.

As far as programming goes, you need the developer tools. Put the CD that came with your computer in, and choose the option to install 'other' applications. (don't reboot/reinstall, just run the other option in there) Xcode is what you'll be needing.

[HDK]

Whatever you import into iphoto gets copied into the iphoto library. This reduces you moving files around and the program having to re-reference the file locations or losing files. So you can remove any other photos on your HD ie: on your desktop once imported.

edit: also worth to note, when you plug in your camera, you just use iphoto to import and to organise your photos from there to save having duplicate copies of files hanging around. If you need an individual photo to work on in say Photoshop, you can drag the photo out of the iPhoto window onto your desktop to create another copy without destroying your original.

[Mac Ram]

Welcome eb075.

If you haven't already done so you should head over to this thread Powermac G5 CPU usage question

It's called "I've just switched to Mac - what's the best program to do.."

[cosmichobo]

Same goes for iTunes - when you import songs into iTunes, it makes a copy into user/Music/iTunes, so you can delete the source file, if it's already somewhere else on your Hard Drive...

Apple's website also has a good list of available software, both their own and 3rd party.

Sadly even Myers, despite often now having a good range of Mac hardware, fails to get in much Mac software...

Thing is - what do you really need? Most business needs have similar if not the same products on both platforms... Yes, there certainly aren't as many games available on Mac as there is for PC, but there's a good shareware community for that. Some of my favourite games are/were share/freeware...

[decryption]

Cocoa is the main set of API's to create GUI apps on Mac OS X. Objective-C is the language they're written. XCode is the main application used to create GUI software on Mac OS X.

If you're interested in programming on OS X, check out the Apple Developer Connection (similar to Microsoft's MSDN). It's your one stop shop for all Apple related developer stuff. Cocoa Dev Central is another great site for learning Cocoa.

Also take a look at these two podcasts: Late Night Cocoa and CocoaCast.

Enjoy!

[HDK]

Originally Posted by cosmichobo

Same goes for iTunes - when you import songs into iTunes, it makes a copy into user/Music/iTunes, so you can delete the source file, if it's already somewhere else on your Hard Drive....

Great point but also worth to note for a switcher is that you can choose to not set itunes up this way and to manually handle your own music if that's what you want eb075. Doesn't work for iphoto though...

[eb075]

I love forums, everyone's always so helpful

Firstly, I hope I didn't offend with the comment re the software, I'm SURE there's lots of stuff out there, it's just nobody sells it, even places like Dick Smith who have become BIG sellers of the hardware

As for iPhotos, yes I was thinking that iTunes was a good analogy and looking at the structure was a great idea-it's now clear as-thanks.

Thanks for all the replies so far and, if I could just trouble again, there's one question I forgot at the start. I've got a Jasjam phone running windows mobile 5 that needs syncing. I've got a trial of a program called the Missing Sync. it seems to do the job and I'm thinking of buying a license but before I do, does anyone know of any probs with this &/or anything better?

Again,
Thanks.

PS. That Mactalk link re programs to do jobs is great, but I think needs updating, a couple of links no longer work

[Razer]

If you're looking to play with programming can I suggest Quartz Composer. I'm by no means a programmer but this program is pretty fun and you can create pretty robust graphical programs. It will also be installed when you install Xcode.