Mac Mini + Quake Review

[Baker]

Once you're done with the install of Bootcamp/XP or Vista, reboot the Mac on Windows, install Quake... and report here how it works!!!

I'll have to locate my OEM Windows XP cd and hope it works with this. It's service pack 1 and it states you need service pack 2 so hopefully installing sp1 and doing an update will solve.

Will be something fun to try on a rainy day.

[Dreadful]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BootCamp

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

[pan1978108]

?

[JohnXmas]

If you ever find out how to do that or run across a site with good instructions, share!

• Apple Bootcamp installation (Intel Macs only) and Setup Guide is here (pdf)
  
• Another tuto here
  
• You can find here interesting Quake 4 benchmarks, comparing the native OS X and the PC+Bootcamp versions

Once you're done with the install of Bootcamp/XP or Vista, reboot the Mac on Windows, install Quake... and report here how it works!!!

[Baker]

Baker,
Use "Command + Shift + 3" To capture the whole screen. It should save it to your desktop.
If you want to select the field you want to capture, use "Command + Shift + 4"

Yeah, I know about the capture whole screen keys but I also need a capture window key (to clipboard). So far at least, I can't get the built-in screenshot keys to do what I want to do (I can't rule out for that I'm not doing something wrong with the selection tool, but I can't seem to capture a specific window without actually outlining the selection, which is slow and times more time than I want).

But I found a great widget addon Screenshot Plus (free) and it solved all my problems. It can capture whatever you want direct to the clipboard or the hard drive and has a lot of different options.

Me, for one, coundn't resist the lure of a windows game rig.
It's really hard to come back to Quake on the Mac (outside of vanilla Q lan co-op )

Well, maybe that will end up changing. At least the non-Tenebrae stuff, hehe.

I've never tried Quake & Bootcamp. Anybody?

If you ever find out how to do that or run across a site with good instructions, share!

[JohnXmas]

Baker,

Screencapture to clipboard on Leopard:
CMD+CTRL+SHIFT+3 = full screen
CMD+CTRL+SHIFT+4 = selector tool
Then paste clipboard content image somewhere else (i.e. in a RTF or PSD doc...).

(On previous Mac OS X system, you might hit CMD+ALT+SHIFT+3 or 4 instead)

. . . .

which captures the current Window

What content? A list? a picture?
If you're looking to get perfectly framed windows pics captures, try SnapzPro. The best tool around.

. . .

Quake 1 developpement has ever been alive and of increasing interest on Windows. The result is a wide choice of capable engines, accessibly and easily modifiable to your fun. The graphic rendering has been optimized on most PC engines. Many mods and recent big levels (specific names don't come in mind right now) are simply not playable on Mac engines. Worse, in many mini-mods, you can load and play the map and find yourself trapped inside cause of some non-working trigger. I realised that when I replayed almost all my preferred Quake stuff on the Mac and then on the PC.

Q1 stuff on Mac has always been scarce. Close to the bone engines, barely correctly ported, Fruitz-of-Dojo was the only choice and the MacNehahra engine came in handy several times. DP has always been plagued by bugs and underdevelopped such as Tenebrae. The recent FitzQuake and ProQuake engines are very promising and should interest new gen Mac users.

Me, for one, coundn't resist the lure of a windows game rig.
It's really hard to come back to Quake on the Mac (outside of vanilla Q lan co-op )

I've never tried Quake & Bootcamp. Anybody?
(Sorry for the Mac Mini! )

[Dreadful]

Baker,
Use "Command + Shift + 3" To capture the whole screen. It should save it to your desktop.
If you want to select the field you want to capture, use "Command + Shift + 4"

[Baker]

You basically only have to replace the PC CTRL key with the CMD key on the Mac. Everything else is the same:

The cut - copy - paste and select all, key combos are:
on PC: CTRL+X - CTRL+C - CTRL+V and CTRL+A
on Mac: CMD+X - CMD+X - CMD+V and CMD+A

I'm fine with the cut, paste, keys. I actually meant the way that you select text with Windows. For instance, I like holding down shift and pressing home, end, pgup, pgndn etc. I know that on a Mac you press the up arrow as the equivalent of home and the down arrow as the equivalent end.

A nice surprise, OpenOffice.org for the Mac actually uses the Windows method of selecting text.

CMD+SHIFT+3 = full screen capture to desktop
CMD+SHIFT+4 = mouse cursor turns into capture selection cross - Clic+drag -> capture to desktop
(With Onyx (freeware - 'Settings' menu) you can easily choose among 10 picture formats and set up your preferred default capture name and path)

I'll have to look into Onyx. Eventually I'll find a utility that does the equivalent of Windows ALT + PrintScreen which captures the current Window to the clipboard (I've read all the docs and OS X doesn't have this). Saving the pic to the desktop adds extra work in the middle that I don't want.

Btw, the mouse settings utility you once recommended to fix mouse acceleration has proved to be invaluable.

I played almost everything out there Quake 1 during years on the Mac, but to really enjoy Q1 currently, you need a PC. Hands down.

Can you explain this statement further?

Damn, he beat me to the punch.

=\

[Dreadful]

Damn, he beat me to the punch.

=\

[JohnXmas]

the way the cutting, pasting and selection

You basically only have to replace the PC CTRL key with the CMD key on the Mac. Everything else is the same:

The cut - copy - paste and select all, key combos are:
on PC: CTRL+X - CTRL+C - CTRL+V and CTRL+A
on Mac: CMD+X - CMD+X - CMD+V and CMD+A

the apparently lack of an ALT-PrintScreen (capture current Window to clipboard)

CMD+SHIFT+3 = full screen capture to desktop
CMD+SHIFT+4 = mouse cursor turns into capture selection cross - Clic+drag -> capture to desktop
(With Onyx (freeware - 'Settings' menu) you can easily choose among 10 picture formats and set up your preferred default capture name and path)


-> Apple Macintosh keyboard shortcuts basic list <-

- - - - - - -

I'm working with Macs since 1990.
I'm playing with PCs since 2 years.

I played almost everything out there Quake 1 during years on the Mac, but to really enjoy Q1 currently, you need a PC. Hands down.

I also use Safari - with some rare help of Firefox - for my regular internet surf and business.
I'm really happy with it and personnaly think IE sucks.
It's only a matter of taste and knowledge of your tools after all...

[Baker]

After using the Mac Mini off and on, a few things I really like about it:

1. It isn't a mess of cords like a PC is. The built-in speakers, the built-in wireless and the design keeps this from happening. This is probably my favorite thing about it.

2. At first, I didn't think the built-in wireless would be of any use.

But then realizing that I could just use the wireless instead of plugging in an ethernet cable and get the same internet speed, it makes the placement/location I use it much more convenient.

3. Because it is so small (about the site of a GameCube, really), you can actually take it with you.

The design itself is something I find amazing. It has speakers, an 80 GB hard drive, an "ok" video card, wireless, DVD with CD writing capabilities and all ports you expect and is very small.

By volume, my Windows desktop if it were hollow could fit about 20 of these Mac-Minis inside it.

There are certain things I don't like about the OS X operating system. In particular I do not like the way the cutting, pasting and selection is done and the apparently lack of an ALT-PrintScreen (capture current Window to clipboard) feature but I imagine I'll eventually get used to the keys and there is probably a utility for the current Window to clipboard capture.

What I do like about the operating system:

1. The increased security is very nice. One example is that it requires typing password to install anything. There are some other things. It certainly doesn't overkill like Vista.

2. Apps seem to only live in their own folder and you can just have the app "disk image" around without installing the app. (I've known about that for years).

3. The operating system itself is a lot easier to "keep clean" because of the way it is designed.

And with web browsers being just web browsers today and OpenOffice.org being available for OS X now, a lot of the basics are easily covered.

I can't say I like it as much as Windows XP, but I've quickly grown a lot more fond of it.

[Mindf!3ldzX]

though I would goodle Mac Mini, and one of the first sites to come up was a wikipedia link, and I thought this to be a bit funny..

The original Mac mini was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005, at the same time as the iPod shuffle. Both are scaled-down products which have been introduced at lower price points. They can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a wider and lower-end market.

They sure fooled me

http://www.crn.com/hardware/198800560 <- MacPro dual quadcore intel xeon 5300 "Clovertown" cpu's is just the starts on the badass out of the box, but once I hit the price of the minimum setup, I got a uneasy stomach and couldnt continue reading haha.

Also as well, these machines are apparently built by order only,and for obvious reasons, you shouldnt spend that much money on a computer regaurdless if its Mac or PC, for the price of a MacPro I could buy a cheap car rofl.

[metchsteekle]

uught i forgot about tapping the touchpad part, if i didnt turn that off i woulda broke it by now, everytime i tried to move the mouse from on side of screen to next i would click on somthing i didnt want

ggrrraah just thinking of it makes me mad

and yes the scroll bar is kick ass [even gives you a waring markes on where it is ]

and i beleve on amcs thAT in order to scroll you had to put 2 fingers on the pad, wich is against the rules for most touchpads [aka bad things will happen >.O]

[Baker]

The number of times that typing has failed because the bottom of my thumb has brushed near (not even against, as the touchpad on my laptop seems to act on proximity rather than touch) has registered a click outside of the typing area

I like touchpads but only Hewlett-Packard ones (I love the scrollbar, it's like a fake mousewheel).

Go into the control and disable the touchpad gestures and clicking and your problem will be solved.

I use the touchpad for moving the mouse. I don't even get the people who want to tap the touchpad to act like a click.

[Mindf!3ldzX]

indeed I would agree about the A-Z factor, we recently bought a GPX mobile mp3 /video player and its interface is atrocios (spchk?) compared to my kids iPod nano's (4gb version) , which has a uber-slick gui and games availible,which would be awkward due to its touch ring interface and middle button, which is awkward on itself. Pacman should be do-able easily,a classic game.

I've only had one of these lock up, and it was fairly easy finding the solution as well,thanks to the apple support faq.

I had to preform a ton of research to find a video conversion app to utilize the GPX's video capability , and in the end I was so frustrated with the lack of support for the device that after I thought I had found what I needed,I simply put it away and havent picked it up since.