Check a System Profile
Mac Tip #304/29-August-2007
Check a System Profile
Apple recently released updated versions of several applications: iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes, GarageBand — all part of the iLife 08 suite — and Keynote, Pages and the new Numbers — all part of the iWork 08 suite.
These are powerful sets of applications. While the current iLife applications come free on any new Mac, you must buy iWork separately. But the cost is very reasonable: US$79 (NZ$109). If you have older versions of iLife you can buy the new 08 versions, again at a similar cost.
There is a bit of a problem though: the specifications for iMovie, in particular, are pretty stringent. I was rather taken aback after buying a Family Pack of each suite to find that iMovie would install on only two of the four Macs in our household.
System Requirements for iMovie include: a Mac with an Intel processor, a Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), or an iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster).
FBAMac Tip #27/31-Oct-2001, About this Computer and subsequent Tips explained for users of Mac OS 9 how to find crucial information about your Mac, but it’s no longer so useful for those with Mac OS X.
To find out details about your modern Mac go to the blue Apple menu and choose About This Mac. An information window appears.
It’s easy to spot the information about the version of Mac OS X you have installed, along with details of the processor and RAM installed in your machine. That should be enough to tell you if your Mac will run iMovie 08.
For more extensive details about all your Mac’s hardware and software click the More Info… button. A System Profiler window appears with a list of items down the left, and details on the right. Click on an item in the Contents column to see information about it.
Check the View menu to switch between Profiles: Mini, Basic and Full. This changes exactly what information is displayed.
If you want, you can print all the information or Save it to a text file. Visit the File menu to Print and to Save As…. Note that you can also Send the Profile to Apple — a Helpdesk technician may ask you to do this for some problems.
If you choose Save As… you can choose from several formats: XML, RTF and plain text.
Saving a Profile as text is one handy way to obtain an instant list of all your software, with version numbers, as well as fonts and other things. Try it and see.
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is jointly authored by Miraz Jordan and Maria Langer.
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