A new Mac convert

gambit32 · 01-01-2007, 12:53 AM

I'm thinking about installing a Mac in place of my PC in my car. I've done some reading here and I had a few questions.

Is Amp the only front end available at this time? From what I read, it is, but it's no longer active in terms of updates.

How feasible is it to put an old iBook in my car? It's an older model. Right now it runs OS X (Cheetah) on one hard drive and I think OS 9 on another. I looked at the about menu and it says it's a PowerPC G3.

Are OS updates free for Mac? For instance, if I want to upgrade to Panther or Tiger, is it a simple software update?

I think that's it for now. Slowly but surely my fiance is converting me to a Mac guy.

GoHybrid · 01-01-2007, 01:46 AM

well AMP is by a good measure more functional and extendable, but with a little work, you can also use Front Row as a good simple front end if you want to use it purely for media, i.e. DVD, MP3, divx...etc... i use a mac mini core duo.

Bugbyte · 01-01-2007, 12:22 PM

I believe AMP only works with Tiger, so you'd have to upgrade.

Apple generally issues a major OS like Cheetah, then updates it once or twice for free. Following that, you have to pay for an update to the next major release like Tiger. That comes in the form of a DVD.

If you have more than one Mac, you can buy the upgrade pack, which has 5 licenses on it so you can reduce the cost of updating 2 or more machines.

Tatra app is another frontend for Mac and as mentioned, Front Row works pretty well. Also, Sama is working on a multiplatform front end that runs in Java.

Jirka Jirout is working on a for-pay front end and AMP hasn't stopped being developed but Aychamo is playing it close to the chest as far as an AMP 2.0 and won't be releasing the code for it, which makes me suspect that it will also be a for-pay update.