more of a question than comment,that is were can i find out how to set up mail rules, as HELP in mail
and trouble shooting just sending you around in circular’s? Thank you Running G4 System10,3.9

Please include a support column for dial-up users, who have no access to broadband or DSL and can’t afford satellite. There’s so much we can’t do or share–yet the world acts as though everyone had broadband. Please provide info on what we CAN do while limited to dial-up. PS what is a “URI” ?

@Eric
Mail rules are in the mail preferences, though if you are on System 10.3.9, I am not sure there is going to be a lot of support out there for that, it is now 2 versions old.

@Anne
I would say so far, all but one of our tutorials would apply to users who are with no online access at all. Aside from the post about video, the rest so far should apply.

Even the post about video, is applicable, it will just take longer for you to download files and videos.

I will do my best to mention slow dialup cases, but for the most part, the tutorials should still be rather relevant.

I URI, is much like a URL, I don’t know why the software we use calls it a URI, technically it is a URL, which is nothing more than the address to get to a website. There are many other things that fall under the URI/URL category, and they are in fact different from each other, but for simplicities sake, just think of them as that address you see in Safari.

Please include a support colum for printer connections. I have an HP Deskjet 4180 All-In-One that is wirelessly connected to my laptop. I can only print, but very slowly. I can not scan or copy using my PowerBook G4. Have even downloaded the latest software.

@Julius Hjulian
Printers, at times, can be a very difficult thing to deal with. With the proliferation of so many multi-function printers out there, it is getting harder to get all those features to work.

The best idea, is that even if they say “Supports Mac”, is to research reviews on that printer model before buying. Some will barely support the Mac.

We will try to cover something about this in a future post, however, writing specific tutorials for every printer out there is not something we feel would benefit all our readers.

@Julius Hjulian
You say that you have a multi-function printer connected to your Mac wirelessly. That tells me that, most likely, you have the printer connected to the network via some kind of print server.

If that is the case, then that is the cause of the problems with scanning and copying. Those kinds of features typically require that the multi-function device be connected directly to a computer, as the software that controls the scanning and copying is looking for the device to be connected directly to a USB port (or some other kind of port) and has no way of locating it over a network.

Of course, you could be using a Bluetooth connected printer, too. In that case, please disregard my comments.

@Julius Hjulian
If you are using Leopard (10.5), HP scanners do not work (using HP scanner software) , even if you are directly connected.
google “HP scanner OSX 10.5″ for more info.
It seems some people are using Vue Scan (a 3rd party program), me ~ I bought a Canon.

Congratulations on a beautiful site and a great resource.

I need all the help I can get. I’ll read word by word. Thanks for your time and effort. cm

Scott- the site looks and reads fine. Maybe I am being picky, but my one comment is that you seem to have organized it backwards. To get to your welcome message, one has to scroll to the bottom. And the series on Safari starts with 3 and then 2, and then 1… I believe that you ought to fix all that!

@David, you are not being picky at all. The site is backwards intentionally. As a matter of fact, it is the nature of many sites these days, especially blogs.

The idea is you come to the site, and you are presented with the newest post first. Were we to reverse that order, every time someone came to the site, after they read all the posts, they would have to jump through every page to get to the last page.

Once you get caught up, it works pretty well the way it is now. If you notice, on the first page, there is an intro, that explains how to get to the beginning, and start on the first page.

Welcome to OS X help. If you are new to the Macintosh, OS X, and Apple, you have come to the right place. If this is your first time here, we suggest you start at the beginning, and work your way to the current post, which you see below.

Thanks for the comment, I think once you get caught up, you will find it is valuable to have the site in the order it is in now.

Thanks Scott:
Today I just found out about your sight & am very happy I did. I had an apple bought many years ago & was doing well. I bought a G4 a year or so ago and have used my PC laptop for most every thing, but now I can study and get back to my Mac.
Thanks again and keep up the good and helpfull job.
Ken

As an old crone, I find it hard to learn new tricks. Something has happened to my new iMac and I can’t seem to find a way to fix it. I’m running the last version of Tiger before the Lepoard update. I have a B&W HP Laser printer 1012 (which is my main printer) and a printer/scannerHP F4180 that I use mainly just to scan. My 1012 printer has a red exclaimation point that comes up. I can’t print any jobs on it. When I go to print the stop sign exclamation point is on stop jobs. It is also on hold. When I try to hit resume nothing works. I can print off my e-mail, but this has me bugged. What can I do to FIX this?

Also as I’m a DIAL-UP user, can you give me a tips about how to update software, etc. Should we do it at night? How do we overcome the fact that we want to survive in the tech world, but may not have the pocketbook to advance to faster connections? Can we CHOOSE what to update in software? What’s the most important? If I was to advance to Lepoard, what would I need to do before an install?

@Mickey, First line of defense in that printing case is to delete the printer from your settings. I would then toggle the printer on and off, or hit the reset button, and add it new again. In most cases, this will fix the problem.

For dialup, it can be a pain, you have a few options. We will cover software update in detail shortly.

1) You can download the updates from the Apple site on someone else’s computer, then install them as you would any other file.

2) If it is a laptop, you can simply bring that to some place with faster internet.

3) Yes, you can ignore some updates, such as those relating to iPod if you for example do not have an iPod. In general, update it all, as it is often hard to know what you need and do not need.

As far as updating to Leopard, my best suggestion is to backup your data. Once you have done that, no matter how bad things go, you can always install new, and put your data back on.

Great to find you!
Here’s something I should know but I’m not sure. I’m running OS 10.4.11. Does this mean the next step is 10.5, aka Leopard? And, does this mean I can’t download it for free but need to pay to upgrade?

The first number after the first “.” (dot) in the version you have to pay for, so paid would be:
10.0
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5

After that, 10.4.11 etc, those are free updates.

And, how far to the right do they extend the numbers? Meaning, would there ever be a 10.5.11.1 or some ridiculous thing?

@Linda, to be honest, I could write a small book on how software companies *should* version their software. Look at Office, calling it Office 2008, with a hidden version number that just makes things confusing.

Some companies will skip a version, and go from say, version 2 to version 4, because they feel it is such a great update. In all reality, their version 4 should probably be more like version 2.2, but the marketing guys just do not like that

Wikipedia has a good article on Software Versioning.

But yeah, in general, it is up to the company, and Apple very well can do as they see fit, there is a nice list of all the versions they have released here.

You mention leopard, I think i’ve got tiger? I know little about computers and less about the terminology used. Saying things like press control, or option, followed by command mean nothing to me, I am not familiar with trhe keys.I realy want a VERY basic tutorial.

@Mike, looks like you read this post, the very first one. If you start at the beginning, and then go to the next post, all the way up to Primer on Macintosh OS X keyboard shortcuts, you should start to get the hang of it.

The idea of this site is to start at the beginning, and work your way forward. We write these in an order with specific concepts in mind.

There has been some complaining that we should cover more advanced topics, and we will in time. First, we have to get people to understand the basics, before we can jump into something like Spaces, or Expose.

Finding your website I feel like a kid with a new toy, can’t wait to read through every page. I’m fairly computer-savvy but when I’m through I’m sure I’ll have a few questions I’ll try to post. How cool to find a website that’s fairly new, instead of seeing dates going back to 2003 or something!

@Matt, sorry the batteries on your new toy seem to have run out We are getting a set of new posts ready, running two days behind schedule as it is now, but I assure you, we are not going anywhere.

New stuff will be posted this evening, thanks for your support and thanks for writing in.

I am so happy to find a place where i can ask questions & not feel like i won’t understand the answers or be talked down to by some “experts”. I’ve had several Macs, over more than ten years, but am totally self taught, therefore i may know alot about some things & very little about things i haven’t needed to get into. Here in Northeastern Vermont, being a Mac user can be a lonely thing. Our local MUG in St. Johnsbury, is always there for questions & has been very helpful. That’s where i heard about this site. I look forward to really looking around here, when i find some time. Thanks so much for being there!!!!!!!

@Lynette, thank you for posting a comment. You are right, we will always strive to help our users, and no matter how simple the answer may seem to us, we want to stress, that you can ask anything you desire, and will get a solid answer.

Learning is always a good thing, and that is after all, what most of our users are trying to accomplish.