Re: iMac questions-buddy gave me one, but no mouse or keyboard....

dave <tool_box@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
> buddy gave me an old iMac 500/IN/64/20/CD/128pro/56K/FW/VGA (this is
> the long number on extreme bottom of it)

OK. Here's the breakdown, as I understand it:

500 - This is 500MHz. This means you have either a Summer-2000,
Early-2001 or Summer-2001 model.

IN - not sure about this one. My guess is that it identifies the case
color ("Indigo").

64 - Bundled with 64M of RAM. I hope it's been upgraded, since this is
practically useless these days. All three of the models this might
be can support up to 1G of RAM. You have two memory sockets, each
one can accept up to 512M, in the form of PC-100 3.3v 168-pin
DIMMs.

CD - CD-ROM drive. (Some models were shipped with DVD-ROM drives or
CD-RW drives)

128pro - This is the video. An ATI Rage 128 Pro. This means you have
either a Summer-2000 or Early-2001 model. (The Summer-2001
shipped with a Rage 128 Ultra).


56K - You have a modem installed.

FW - You have two FireWire ports. (All iMacs of 400MHz or faster have
them)

VGA - you have a VGA-compatible video-out port. The video on this port
will mirror the internal display. I don't know if you can get a
software hack to allow true dual-display operation.

> can I use the ol' keyboard and/or mouse from my old powertower pro 225
> mac clone? it sure doesn't LOOK like the ports are the same. are the
> iMac kybd and mouse ports both USB? or?

Can't use your old ADB devices.

You can use any generic USB ones. They come in a huge variety of
styles for a huge variety of prices. Pick out ones that you like.

Personally, I recommend getting the Apple keyboard ($30). It's a high
quality device and has some keys (like volume control and CD eject)
that may not be present on keyboards from other vendors.

For a mouse, I've been very happy with a Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical
($20). Apple's mouse ($30) is good, but it only has one button. Mac OS
and many applications will support the use of three buttons and a wheel.
Personally, I could never go back to using a mouse without a wheel.

> I'm assuming the kybd and mouse on the iMac are 'mac specific' and not
> 'common' to like, uhh, windows boxes, correct? and also NOT same as
> those on my ol' powertower?

Nope. Any USB keyboard/mouse will work.

Note, however, that you only have two USB ports. You can typically plug
the mouse into the keyboard (most USB keyboards have built-in hubs), but
chances are that you'll still want more ports. A good quality powered
hub will take care of this. I've been very happy with my Belkin-brand
7-port hub.

> the CD in this iMac a "burner", or just a straight player?

Unless it has been upgraded, you have a CD-ROM drive.

You can attach CD burners and DVD burners to a FireWire port.
Performance should be pretty good.

I don't know if you'll be able to boot from a FireWire drive or not.
Some of the early FireWire Macs could not.

> I'm assuming the DB-25 port on the rear, behind a kind of 'cover' is
> an 'external video' port, for an external monitor?

It's not a DB-25, but a VGA-style HD-15. Yes, it's for an external
monitor. The external display will mirror the built-in display.

> this machine wouldn't be capable of running OS X, would it be?

It can run OS X very well, if you have enough memory. If you have at
least 256M (preferably 512M), go for it.

> and I'm guessing there's no way to run an EXternal SCSI device with
> this iMac, correct? (can't see any 'slots' for cards anywhere)

Correct. No SCSI. And no internal expansion (aside from larger hard
drives and more memory.) But you can attach devices to FireWire and
USB.

If you have a legacy SCSI device, you might be able to use a
SCSI-FireWire adapter to make it compatible. This works well with
things like disk drives. Also works with scanners, but you'll probably
need third-party scanning software to work with the configuration.

-- David
.