Ask TUAW: Gmail, Java, and G4s
Okay folks, it's time once again for Ask TUAW answers. As before, I'll be offering answers to several reader questions from last week. I encourage other readers to offer their thoughts, and especially to pose more questions for next week. This week we'll be tackling questions about Gmail, Apple's Java support and more. So without further ado, let's turn to the questions.
Evan D asks
I'm trying to get my Gmail inbox in my to show up on my Mail inbox. And i don't know how to do it without forwarding to my .mac account on Gmail, which i do not want to do because my .mac is almost up and i don't plan on getting a new one.
Okay there are several possible approaches to the problem of getting GMail into Mail.app. The easiest way is simply to turn on GMail's POP3 service. If you go to the settings page on GMail, and then click on "Forwarding and POP" you'll see something about like this:
In the second section, you want to make sure that you Enable POP (if you want all of your back email choose the first option, if you only want future emails choose the second). You should also select what you want to happen when you get your emails in Mail.app; do you want Gmail to do nothing, archive them, etc.
Okay now we have Gmail set up as a POP3 mail server so let's head over to Mail.app. Fortunately, GMail has a nice tutorial with pictures you might want to look at, but if you want the short version: go into Mail.app Preferences, then Accounts, then add a new POP account. Call it "Gmail," and fill in the fields as follows:
Description: Gmail
Email Address: your_username@gmail.com
Full Name:
Incoming Mail Server: pop.gmail.com
User Name: full Gmail address (e.g. your_username@gmail.com)
Password: ***
For the SMTP Server settings:
port: 587
check "use SSL"
Authentication: Password
User Name: full Gmail address (e.g. your_username@gmail.com)
Password: ***
Finally, be sure to select "Use SSL" in the Advanced tab as well.
If you do all of that, you should have Gmail in your Mail.app inbox with no problems.
Molly asks
I've always heard people say things to the effect of "Java never really works on a Mac." Admittedly, I've only been using macs for 3 years, but I can't recall ever having a major (or even a minor) issue with this. What is the history behind the idea that Java doesn't work on a mac? What's the current standing of Java on Safari, firefox, etc?
You perhaps already know this, but just to be clear, we should draw a distinction between Java and Javascript. Java is a programming language (and associated technologies) in which you can write full-fledged applications. Apple fully supports Java applications, which you can run more or less out of the box. Tiger's Java implementation is based on JDK 1.5.0_06. Furthermore, Safari runs Java applets just fine.
JavaScript, on the other hand, is a scripting language mainly used on the web. Safari naturally includes support for JavaScript, as does Firefox, etc. Since JavaScript is supported within the web-browser, not the OS, the level of JavaScript support is dependent on the particular browser. Thus support within Firefox should be more or less the same as in non-Mac OS X versions (though of course there may be bugs, etc.).
In short, whoever told you that Java doesn't work on the Mac just doesn't know what he's talking about. While it's true that Apple has depreciated the Cocoa-Java Bridge, which allowed for easier development of Java application in OS X, that does not mean that Java applications do not work on the Mac, as many regular users of Azureus will attest.
Dominic asks
I have a g4 iMac dome, with usb1.1, and with the new iPod (and I presume iPhone) being usb2.0, am getting frustrated at the slow updating speeds.
My question is, can I firewire a harddrive, run os X from the firewired hardrive, and use that drives usb 2.0 ports for speedy updates of my pod? – would I need to run my mac from that drive all the time, and if so, will there be any other problems I should look out for when using a firewired drive for booting?
Alas, no; it would be nice if things worked like this, but it just won't. Unlike FireWire, the USB standard is asymmetrical and requires a host controller, which the external hard drive does not contain.
Keep in mind that the iPod went USB2-only just as of the fifth generation, so if you have an iPod Photo (4G) or older you can use a FireWire to iPod Dock connector cable (on 5G iPod FireWire can charge but not sync). As for the present iPods and the forthcoming iPhones, I'm afraid you're out of luck. But on the bright side, you now have a compelling excuse to get a new iMac!
Spencer asks
Having shifted the rest of my family over to Macs, I'm looking to make the change myself, with a 24" iMac – but I'd rather not buy it only to see Apple update the hardware a month or two down the line – so what I'm wondering is; when do you think the next iMac hardware update will be, (it seems to me that it will coincide with the release of Leopard?) and is it likely that Apple will update the video cards? (I enjoy the odd spot of gaming)
Ah, this is the perennial question, and the answer is simply: your guess is as good as mine, but coinciding with a Spring Leopard release does sound plausible. In short, we have no idea, and neither does anybody else outside of few Apple executives. What we can say is this. If you check out the wikipedia timeline (scroll to the bottom) of iMac models you can see that the Core Duo lasted about 9 months, from about January to September 06. It's been only four months since the Core 2 Duo iMacs, so I would not actually expect a new revision in the immediate future. However, that said, with Apple you just never know.
What I always tell people is simple: if you need it now, get it now (unless you're right before Macworld or WWDC). I have a Core Duo iMac which is an excellent machine, and I've had no problems with it. As far as upgrading the graphics in the next iMacs, whenever they are released, I'd say it's likely. The Core 2 Duos (with the exception of the 24" which was new in September), have the same graphics chips (ATI Radeon X1600) as the Core Duo models from January 06, so I would expect a bump on the next revision. I would guess, and it's nothing more than that, that the 24" would be bumped as well.
[Update: Our Michael Rose just clued me into the MacRumors Buyer's Guide, which might be of help to Spencer. Also clarified the iPod FireWire situation.]