As far as PCI cards are concerned, the hardware will probably work fine (as long as questions of PCI 2.1, 2.2, 3.3v or 5v don�t screw things up, just as they can with a PC), but the card will need to have appropriate firmware to work in a Mac, which uses Open Firmware rather than a PC BIOS, and also drivers for the Mac, unless it is a basic class-type device (such as many USB cards). Similar considerations apply to USB and FireWire devices � if they are not basic devices for which there are class drivers (such as hard drives, keyboards, mice etc), then there will need to be Mac drivers for them to work.
A very useful utility is MacTracker, (http://www.mactracker.ca/), which is an absolutely invaluable utility for the technical details of different Macs. There�s even a Windows and a MacOS 8/9 version. Since it sounds like you're a pretty technical type, I would thoroughly recommend that you get your hands on a MacOS X capable box - it really is a stunning OS, and so far ahead of any version of Windows in usability and stability that it's a real joy to work on. And given your Linux roots, the fact that it's based on BSD must make it even more attractive - it's UNIX but with a thoroughly professional and very powerful graphics layer, gorgeous UI, and heaps of apps. What more could you want! MacOS 8/9 truly are dark ages in comparison. Nick -- Nick Collingridge - Zapp Computer Consultancy From: Paul Tansom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: "Mac UK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 23:10:33 +0000 To: "Mac UK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Trade suppliers As for components, I'm aware that the newer Macs are PCI based, so are not restricted to custom hardware, although to be honest I've not looked into where things stand from a driver point of view. I'm not quite that green on the Mac front :-) , although I'm not sure precisely where this change occurred when I look at models, but I'd soon be onto the LEM site to check things out - particularly when I can sort out something OS X capable that I can squeeze some cash out for. Unless its too new for them of course! Time and money - always the limiting factors :-( -- Mac UK is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Mac UK list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/mac-uk.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/mac-uk%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
